Viewtiful Joe: Brand New Hero
by ngrey651
Summary: When JADOW and GEDOW unite, Joe, Sylvia and Blue must call on a brand new hero to save the day...a hero from the REAL world, and a big fan of the series! How can we win? With a v watch and Joe and friends helping him, anything's possible! Read and review!
1. Brand New Hero, pt 1

**It's been a while since it happened. A couple years have passed, and Movieland finally seems to have found peace…and a growing fanbase. I was surprised when someone made a game about our exploits…and even more surprised when they said they were going to make sequels!**

**But THIS is the icing on the cake: A movie ABOUT our game! It just made me so happy to hear that I could be loved by millions once again. My daughter and her boyfriend were happy too, not only because they couldn't wait to see the fans, but also because of one simple thing…**

**The day the movie "Viewtiful Joe" opens is also the day their wedding takes place. **

**I was overjoyed. An old coot like me couldn't be happier. **

**It was a sunny, breezy day in Movieland, where the wedding was taking place in a beautiful green pasture with a babbling brook and amber waves of grain surrounding the guests. Quite a nice setup, I thought. Life didn't get much better than this!  
**

**It DOES, however, get worse. **

* * *

**VIEWITFUL JOE **

BRAND NEW HERO

* * *

Sylvia's sky blue eyes opened wide at the sight of her old man. Her long shoulder-length hair blew daintily through the wind as she raced to hug him, throwing her arms around his big chest and pot-belly. He laughed, a deep, bass sound. He hugged her back, careful not to be too strong. "It's great to see you too, my heroic, grown-up baby…" "Aw, dad! Don't call me that…" Slyvia's cheeks turned bright red, and Joe laughed a little. He brushed back his fiery, wild red hair and straightened his impressive tuxedo. "Sylvia, come on! It's time to begin!" Sylvia let go of her dad, and she ran back to Joe, white dress also flowing in the wind. She kissed him on the cheek, and faced the minister. 

William Blue, also known as Captain Blue, was the happiest father alive right now. His gray eyes danced with joy at the sight of his beautiful daughter in that dress, looking so much like her mother right now. In just a few short minutes, Joe and Sylvia would be married, together forever. He straightened out his own tuxedo, and waited. A gray/blond hair fell down from his head, a reminder of how old he was. 59 was pretty old, after all. But that didn't seem important. Only Sylvia and Joe were important today.

Many denizens of Movieland had come to see the wedding, and they were all silent (For the most part) as the man of God continued. Joe brushed his goatee in excitement, and Sylvia giggled occasionally.

Soon, he came to the words:

"If anyone has any reason why these two should not be wed, speak now, or forever hold your peace."

Nobody said anything…hold that. There was deep laughing…

That WASN'T coming from Captain Blue.

Then…FOOM! The minister was suddenly on fire, being burned alive! Joe rushed forward, rolling the priest on the ground so that the guy would escape deadly burns. Sylvia acted pretty quickly too, moving people away from the burning man. The minister's flames managed to be put out, and he groaned in pain. Joe stood up, and wiped his brow. "Phew…how did that happen? Who did this to you, sir?" The minister tried to say something, when suddenly his eyes widened, and he pointed at the sky. Joe and the others turned around, looking up.

There, assembled for all to see, was every single major foe that Joe had fought. From Alastor to Hulk Davidson to Bloody Rachel. They were all standing on a floating platform, and most were grinning or smiling. Only Alastor seemed to be unhappy, his eyes seemed distant, his face set like stone. Fire Leo had his gigantic claws stretched out, his paw still flaming. Obviously he had set the priest on fire. Joe's green eyes narrowed, and he pointed accusingly at them. "What are YOU all doing here? I thought you were all supposed to be DEAD!" Fire Leo simply chuckled. "Oh, please. You didn't honestly think that we wouldn't plan for defeat and then come back for revenge later, did you Joe? That we had no way of getting back after you beat us? Pathetic, Joe. And we are no longer simply Gedow and Jadow. We are now the JAGOW!"

(Crickets chirp.)

"What was that?" "The JAGOW. The Jadow-And-Gedow-Omnipotent-Warriors." "…It's alright…but couldn't you think of something more…creative?" "We WERE going to do Jadow-Gedow Alliance, but JGA is taken." "Yeah, by the Justice Guild of America…and we don't wanna get sued!" "Ya! And besides, de Justice Guild is cool! Aiy loff dem!" (Ever noticed how alike certain accents are? Like German and Russian, for example?)

To commiserate the event, Hulk Davidson began belting out some newly-made rap song, but luckily Another Joe whacked him across the face. "YOW! Don't be hating, brotha." Alastor whacked him too. "Shut up, you "perpetrator"." Sylvia faced them along with Joe and Blue, and the three struck their respective poses. "We'll just transform and beat your butts all over again!"

"Oh no. Ha ha haa. We are not here to fight, viewtiful heroes…" Frost Tiger raised a clawed paw and shot out icicles into the air. They fell down around the wedding ceremony, forming a cage. Joe and the others tried to kick through them, but to no avail. "Just transform!" "I don't think so, insects!" Dr. Cranken revealed his ugly squiddy face, and pressed a button on a remote he was holding in his tentacled left arm. A gigantic magnet pulled anything metal towards the platform, and the swag landed smack dab in the middle of the evildoers, who helped themselves to change, credit cards, cell phones…and the v-watches. Alastor fingered all three, smiling a little. "Hmm…nice design…pretty cool thing, this v-watch. Don't mind if I take them, do you?" "You pigs!" Sylvia flicked him off, and Joe began spouting off every single swear he could think off. Blue sat down on the grass, thinking.

"Now if you don't mind, we're off to your movie premiere in Avon, Connecticut. We need a human family for our latest plan…heh, heh." Fire Leo gave them a mock salute, and the villain's floating platform took off into the sky. Joe and Sylvia hugged tightly. "What are we gonna DO, Joe?" "I dunno, Sylvia…I just don't…" "I know! I'll need your help, but I think I can contact Six Majin to go after them!" "How? Don't we need the V-Watch to do that?" "No, that's only to ride in him. Just call him up with me."

The three all took a deep breath, and then shouted: "COME ON, SIX MAJIN!"

A few minutes passed…

Then suddenly the ground shook and rocked as a sonic boom echoed through the sky. Heading towards them at Mach Speed was the Six Majin, Blue's super huge gigantic, red-armored, fighting mega-robot. Joe whistled, and the Six Majin touched down, breaking the icicle barrier with a flick of its hand. The guests all rushed out to freedom. The three heroes looked at each other in worry. The bad guys were going after innocents in the USA. Could Six Majin catch up in time?

The red mega-robot streaked through the sky, heading towards the silver screen entrance to Avon, Connecticut, where a teenager and his family were all gathered to watch the Viewtiful Joe movie…


	2. Brand New Hero, pt 2

_I. Love. Video. Games. _

_They're awesome in dozens of ways, and contrary to popular belief they do NOT kill off imagination. Not mine, anyway. Once I turn a game off after playing, my mind already begins to dream up adventures…_

_I always thought that video game characters were cool, that the heroes were everything people should be, that the girls were wonderful in their own special way, that even video game villains could be considered pretty cool. I just love video games and everything about them. _

_I DON'T always like movies about them, but this one I felt I HAD to see. You see, a few months ago I got addicted to "Viewtiful Joe" for the Nintendo Gamecube. I played it like 4 times, as different characters. And I heard reports of a sequel too, so I'm already saving up money to get it, right? _

_Yeah…I am definitely a Joe fanatic. _

_NOW Joe's movie is out, and I just HAD to see it, right? So I took my family along with me. The critics had given it incredible reviews, saying that not only was it a great video game movie, it was also a…well…viewtiful movie anyway! Whether you were a fan of Joe or not, the movie was supposed to be pretty damn good. _

_So my family decided to all come. My Mom, my brother and I headed into Avon with my friend Matt to check the film out. I was pretty excited._

_David said the movie would be a let-down, but I disagreed. I said that as long as the film stayed pretty true to the game, then he'd like it. He liked the video game as well. David laughed a little at this, but I could tell he really wanted to see that movie too. As did Matt, who was fascinated with Joe's powers._

_The movie was gonna be exciting. The movie would stay true to the game. _

_Perhaps a little TOO true…_

Nicholas Michael Grey walked into the Hoyts Cinema, with his family and friend behind him. He looked all around the dome-shaped entry hall with his hazel eyes and smiled at the big "Viewtiful Joe" diaorama that the cinema had put up. David motioned towards the snack bar, and Matt and him took off in an instant, ordering "Two mixed Icees, please!"

David and Mom bought some buttered popcorn, and Nick got a large bag of Skittles. They were all set for the flick. The movie-goers showed our pre-bought tickets to the ticket puncher dude, and headed straight down a hall, taking the last right turn to the movie in theater 4. He smiled at the large crowd gathered, and looked for four open seats. Someone caught his attention. "I'd recognize that curly, messy brown hair anywhere! Nick-o-lino!" "Daaaad! Don't call me that…" Nick turned beet red in the face, and walked over to see his Dad. Michael Grey was a forty-something year old man, with dark black, curly hair, a 5 o'clock shadowed face and a bristly mustache. Nick hugged his dad, squeezing tightly. His dad looked him up and down…mostly up, considering that the 14 year-old was 6 feet tall, and slightly taller than his dad already.

"Have you grown ANOTHER inch since I saw you?" "Aw, Dad! Don't be silly. Hey, are you here with Barbie Girl?" "That's right, "Bigfoot"." Nick looked behind his dad to see a Native American, middle-aged yet still pretty woman. She had long, dark brown hair and a nice smile. She wore blue earrings, a bead necklace and had on a black jacket with a white undershirt. Her pants were also black as well. This was Barbara Tyler, or rather, Barbara Grey. Nick's stepmom.

His step-brother and sister were behind Barbara. Jordan was a…big boned…young man who would soon be in college. He was about 26 years old, and a hard worker. He had stringy yellow hair that was combed across his head...except for a SMALL bald spot. He had a big, smiling face and blue eyes. Kelly, Nick's step-sister had long hair like Barbara, except hers was of a lighter brown. She had a charming smile and red fingernails to match her all-red dress. Jordan had a red/blue striped sweatshirt and jeans on, his usual attire. Their shoes were incredibly stylish.

David was wearing a "Kokopelli Hiker" T-shirt and black pants, his neat brown hair combed down on his head. His mom had curly, dark brown hair, with a purple "Union Yes!" shirt and a black skirt with white shoes. Matt was wearing a "Star Trek" tee with black pants, and his hair was also pretty neat like his brother. He had on shades as well, but was taking them off.

Nick had dressed pretty simply. He had on an impressive "Life is good" green T-shirt with khaki cargo pants. He wore a little silver Celtic cross on his neck and had brushed his hair back quite well. His white and blue sneakers glinted in the light of the theater floor lamps. He grinned at his assorted family and friends.

"Great to see you guys! Here to catch "Viewtiful Joe" and see if it's really as good as they say?" "Yes, Nick." "No, we're here to kidnap the audience." That was from Jordan, who liked wisecracks. Nick just smiled and sat down. He pointed at the screen. "The previews are starting! Shhh!"

"NAVY. ACCELERATE YOUR LIFE." "That would be a wonderful thing, that." "I'm loving it!" "Coming this fall!" "Be prepared for…"

"You know, when the previews in the movie last at least half as long as a movie itself, then we're in deep trouble." "True dat, Nick." "Word." "Good! You're learning "cool" nicely, Nick." "I have a good teacher Dad, right Dave?"

About 20 minutes later, the movie began with a dramatic opening, showing off Captain Blue's opening fight and Joe and Sylvia's date. "Come on Blue, you gotta win! We can't do it without you!" said Joe from the screen. Nick was impressed. The acting was very good, and the characters were so well animated, they almost looked…human! Now Captain Blue was groaning, being pulled into the darkness, and Sylvia had noticed that something was wrong. Nick knew what came next. The evil monster known as King Blue would pull Sylvia into the movie, and then carry her off…

But something different happened. The monster stared RIGHT AT NICK AND HIS FAMILY. And laughed horribly.

"EXCELLENT…YOU SHALL DO VERY WELL FOR THE SACRIFICE! SEIZE THEM, COMRADES!"

People in the audience screamed as big villains from the movie and the video game jumped out. A tyrannosaurus in army fatigues was roaring right in Nick's face, and Alastor was hovering above Matt, who seemed pretty interested in Alastor's threads.

"Niiiiice!" "Like them? They're custom-made. Now…" Suddenly Alastor grabbed Matt by the shirt cuff and lifted him into the air! Nick tried to pull Matt down, but was pinned beneath the mighty claws of the dinosaur, who roared with laughter. "We'll get you soon enough, just wait!" The infamous "Joker" bianky called out: "We've got enough! We only need 7 humans!"

"Can't I eat this tasty civilian? I haven't had a good meal in DAYS! The platoon's grub stinks!" "No, Big John. You'll spurt blood all over the nice floor." Big John growled angrily, but released Nick and jumped back into the screen. Matt also screamed as he was unceremoniously thrown into a cage along with Nick's family. Nick himself stared in shock as the cage was lifted up by a huge statue and held aloft. "We got them, so is time to go now!" the Jewish accent that the statue had might have been funny somewhere else, but not here. Nick desperately tried to get Flinty to release the cage by kicking and punching the temple guardian, but he only succeeded in bruising his knuckles and his feet. Alastor hovered over him in the air, and Nick snarled "If you harm my family and Matt, I'll…I'll…" Alastor simply shook his head. "Don't bother getting up kid. Just sit back and watch the bad guys win. You can't stop us." Nick tried to stand up, but he'd really hurt his foot kicking Flinty. He fell right back down, grabbing and rubbing it to ease the pain.

Alastor waved goodbye as the villains all went back into the screen, and Nick was left alone in the movie theater.

His family was gone. Matt was gone. Everyone else who'd been in the theater had run away. What could he do?

He didn't think about it for one second. He hobbled towards the screen, and slowly climbed up onto the ledge that the screen rested on. He let out a bellowing war cry and rushed after the villains, ignoring the soreness of his feet.

He felt for a moment as if he was entering some kind of liquid, that's what going into the screen felt like. But then…empty air. And he fell, and fell, and fell.

Down, down into Movieland Nicholas Michael Grey fell.

He saw green grass below him, and grit his teeth. His body slammed painfully into the ground…

And he everything went black after a sudden, brief, incredible moment of pain.

He awoke suddenly. There was a light breeze that cooled his face, and that made his lightly curly brown hair sway a little. He got up, rubbing his sore back…ouch. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. It was felt sore instead of broken…and shouldn't his back be broken after such a fall?

He stood up, stretched a little, eyes closed and arms reaching high…and looked to his right.

A beautiful, extensive and bustling metropolis streamed out across beautifully green and grassy fields. A gigantic sign, to the right of a road that led into the city said: "Welcome to Movieland Metropolis".

He was in no way, in any manner, in Avon, Connecticut anymore, that was for sure.

Wait a moment…familiar-looking shadows were looming on the ground. Nick turned around, drawing in breath as he came face to face…with Viewtiful Joe, Sexy Sylvia and Captain Blue.


	3. Brand New Hero, pt 3

**I'm Joe. View-ti-ful-Joe! You've probably heard of me and my girlfriend Sylvia's exploits. We've starred Viewtiful Joe, and now in one movie!**

**But more importantly, we were recently starring in a wedding. Me and Sylvia were going to be wed when the JAGOW showed up and screwed up everything! They imprisoned us long enough so that they could get a human family to sacrifice for…something sinister, I think. We didn't get to the portal that led to Avon, Connecticut's movie theater in time…but we found something more interesting than the JAGOW…we found a teenager who'd followed them here to Movieland, hoping to stop them! **

**We had just landed the Six Majin outside the portal area that was near Metropolis Movieland, and there we saw him, lying in the grass. He was in bad shape for a little while…but before our eyes Blue snapped his fingers, and the kid was okay! I guess Movieland can defy physics in more ways than one…as can Blue. I looked down at the kid, who was groaning a bit. We stood behind him, and watched him stand up, and look at the metropolis. He's turning around now, I think he saw our shadows. **

**Maybe we can help him out somehow…perhaps Blue has just one more trick up his sleeve…**

Nick reeled back, shocked. There they were! The heroes and heroine of the _Viewtiful Joe_ series. Blue, Joe and Sylvia were all staring right at him, looking him over. He managed to get out:

"Uh…uh…Can-uh…er…can I-I-I have your…your autographs?"

Blue chuckled, a deep, bass of a laugh. "Maybe later, kid. Who are you?"

"I'm…I'm Nicholas Michael Grey…but you can call me Nick. I came in here to…well, to rescue my family and friends that were kidnapped! I can hardly believe this is happening, I just…ooh…"

He grabbed his head, and staggered around a bit. Sylvia and Joe carefully eased him into a sitting position on the grass, and Blue snapped his fingers. A cup of ice-cold water appeared before Nick, who didn't ask questions. He mumbled "Thanks" and downed the glass in three big gulps.

When he seemed to have calmed down a few moments later, he asked them what was going on, why hadn't they stopped the bad guys when they had attacked, and where the heck where their v-watches?

Joe turned as red as his costume. "Well…Alastor took our v-watches. Me and Sylvia were getting married, and then the JAGOW showed up and stalled us long enough so that we couldn't stop them from reaching Avon. We don't have much power without the v-watches…except for Blue, who is still the director. But even his power is limited…he can currently only summon up things that are smaller than a breadbox, right?"

"Embarrassing…but yes. If I had my v-watch back, I could easily poof up some mighty weaponry to take down the JAGOW, but unfortunately I don't. I wish there was some way to stop them, but I don't see how!"

Sylvia had been thinking hard about their situation, her blond brows furrowed in thought. Her blue eyes twinkled behind her gold-rimmed glasses, and Joe realized she had an idea.

"Daddy…can you call up another v-watch?" "Actually, I cannot call another one up for you, a v-watch cannot be replaced that easily. Once you are bonded to a certain v-watch, no others will work. If I could, I'd-"

Sylvia shook her head violently. "No daddy. Not for us…for Nick." Joe and Blue turned their heads at her, eyes and mouths wide open and went: "WHAAAT?" at the same time that Nick said: "COOOL!"

Sylvia pouted, and stuck her hands on her hips. "Why not? He seems pretty heroic, diving into the silver screen to save the ones he cares about. Get him a watch, daddy!" "But…I don't know if he's a true hero…" "Please…give me a chance to save my family. That's all I'm asking, Mr. Blue sir." Nick got on bended knee and clasped his hands together in a "pretty please" gesture. Sylvia followed. "PLEAAAASE?" they whined.

Joe rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Blue. "Well…why not? He's the only one here who can wield a v-watch, and maybe he'll surprise us. He can at least TRY to save his family and get our v-watches back, right… "Dad"? Huh? Huh?"

Blue bit his lip, and sat down in the grass, thinking.

Hmm…he does seem brave and noble, going here to save his family and friends. And I could do a lot worse…besides, he's innocent like Joe and Sylvia are. He has a good heart, and a good heart is great guide down the path of fighting evil. In any case, what other choice do we have?

Blue nodded to Sylvia and Nick, and looked at Joe. "Okay then, I'll do it if Joe agrees with me. Joe?"

Joe gave his trademark grin. "Ha ha! Of course I agree! The kid's gonna be big! What's the worst that can happen, anyway?"

Blue stood up, and concentrated hard. In a flash of white light, rainbow sparkles surrounded Nick's right wrist as a v-watch took form. The sparkles suddenly vanished in a glittery poof, and the v-watch was complete. It had the familiar v-hands on it's little clock area, and the watch was a nice silver color. The v-hands were green though, and the numbers on the clock were gold. Interesting, thought Blue.

Joe turned to Nick and said: "Now you gotta prove your hero-ness. Go into the metropolis, and we'll just wait for your inner hero to shine. The v-watch will respond if you really ARE meant to be a hero…and if you've busted a few JAGOW heads."

Nick grinned happily, and struck a heroic pose with his raised right fist. "You got it, viewtiful allies! It's time for me to strut my stuff!"

He turned around, and walked down into the metropolis singing "Funkytown" by Lipps Inc. Blue rubbed his chin, thinking some more.

**The kid is even goofier than Joe is…this will definitely by interesting to watch. **

* * *

**_OPENING CREDITS_****_

* * *

_**

Camera focuses in on Nick, who's lying on his back in a grassy field, looking up at the sky, thinking. He sighs happily, it's a beautiful, peaceful day and that sky is so blue and sunny.

**BGM: Greatest Day, by Bowling For Soup **

Suddenly as the music plays, Nick gets up and runs across the field, laughing. Joe, Sylvia and Blue all drive by him. Joe waves the keys. Nick jumps into the car and they all take off towards a town.

_I've got the keys to the car!  
I'm goin' out on an afternoon vacation!  
They all know where I'm gonna goooo…_

They drive through town, zooming down the street, all laughing. Then suddenly Biankies show up, emerging from the alley. The car swerves to a halt, and Nick jumps out. Joe hands him his v-watch, and Nick transforms, jumping at the Biankies.

_The sun is shining dooown and…  
There is no one else arooouuund now…  
Wish you were here to hear me saaay…  
This is gonna be…my greatest daaaay! _

The scene cuts to a huge movie reel that Nick is running on in viewtiful attire. He passes by, in order, Charles, Hulk, Bruce, Leo, Alastor (who waves) and King Blue. He grins and turns around, waving at them.

_How far would I go…how long would I stay?  
To see it all…to carry it all back with me again!  
How hard would I try, just to hear everybody say…  
"This is gonna be my greatest day"!_

Nick is riding in Six Machine, flying over Movieland and looking down at everything, in total awe, going "ooh" and "aah". He stands up and jumps out, spiraling down, arms stretched out.

_Standing here, looking out on the world…  
And for a second nobody's looking back at me…  
I never even notice where they go!_

_The sun is shining down and…  
There is no one else around now…  
Wish you were here to hear me say…  
This is gonna be…my greatest daaaay! _

Scene cuts back to the reel. Nick is still running. Now he passes, in order, Big John, Flinty, Cameo Leon (who waves), Frost Tiger, Rachel (who also waves) and Dark Kaiser. Nick waves back like he did before, and then jumps off the end of the reel, landing in Six Machine, which flies off.

_How far would I go…how long would I stay?  
To see it all…to carry it all back with me again!  
How hard would I try, just to hear everybody say…  
"This is gonna be my greatest day"!_

Nick continues to plummet from the sky. But suddenly Six Machine appears, and he lands deftly in it. He points at the horizon, and the jet takes off.

_My greatest day! _

_My greatest daaaaayy-aaaaayyyy-aaayyyy-aaaaayyyy! _

Scene cuts to Six Machine, which now flies over town, hill and river to finally end up at Movieland Metropolis. It touches down on a street near a warehouse and Nick walks inside. Joe, Sylvia, Blue, Alastor and Goldie are all waiting for him. Joe's on the guitar with Sylvia, Blue has the drums, Alastor and Goldie have Bass guitars. Nick grins and runs up to an unused microphone, which is just for him. He starts singing.

_"I've got the keys to the car!  
I'm goin' out on an afternoon vacation!  
They all know where I'm gonna goooo…_

_The sun is shining dooown and…  
There is no one else arooouuund now…  
I wish you were here to hear me saaay…  
To saaaay…this is gonna be…my greatest daaaay!_

_My greatest daaaaay!_

_My greatest daaaaaay!_

_My greatest daaaaaay!_

_How far would I go…how long would I stay?  
To see it all…to carry it all back with me again!  
How hard would I try, just to hear everybody say…"_

Everyone sings out the next line.

**_This is gonna be my greatest day! _**

(Music ends.)

All goes black.

"Woo! Nice, guys! Frickin' A!" "We did good?" "We did GREAT!" "Awesome!" "Woohoo!"


	4. Creature of the Fight

**Mwa ha! Ha-ha-ha! Ha! (Snort) I'm…Sir Charles the Third! Pleasure to meet your…hee hee…acquaintance! I'm one of JAGOW's generals, and it happens to be my job(Snort) to guard the Metropolis sector. Ha ha ha! (Snort) I'm quite happy here…I can suck dry any tasty citizen I want! (Snort)**

**Human blood is like nectar to me…I even bottle it. (Snort) Right now, hee hee…I'm enjoying a nice fine glass of Robinson '95. Sluuuuurrrrppp…uh oh! Can't…supress…SNORT! ARGH! I spilled perfectly good blood all over! Dammit!**

**I have this…SNORT! Nasal problem…**

**In any case…that stupid punk, what's-his-name…Nick! He's making some trouble for my men here in this sector. Well…I'll just take care of HIM, won't I? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Ha Ha Ha! (Snort.)**

* * *

"Biaaaaatch!" A good punch decked a Bianky robot that was harassing a young woman on the streets. Nick withdrew his fist, and grinned. "I've got mad skills!" "Save the banter for AFTER you've beaten his partners in crime, sir!" More Biankys, all moving around strangely and coming closer, began uttering words that sounded like "Get 'im! Get 'im!"

Nick jumped into the fray, punching and kicking like he'd never done before. Several Biankys were knocked into one another, and others fell apart in a few good punches. Soon he managed to wipe them out, and the woman breathed a sigh of relief. Nick turned to her and did a cool salute. "I'm Nick, hero-to-be. How can I help you? I have to prove my worth, you see, and…" "Charles the Third is holding our city hostage! He sucks the blood of any young woman that's offered in the daily sacrifice. I was going to be next. The worst part though is…is…" She was shaking a bit, and Nick quietly asked, "What's the worst part?" "He makes us watch him do it too…oh god!" The lady convulsed violently, and sobs. Nick patted her on the shoulder. "Madam, I'll do anything I can. Where is the big old bat?"

She pointed toward a bell tower in the center of town, the only thing that didn't look like it belonged in a big, modern city. It was really old… "He's in the top of the bell tower!" Nick cracks his neck and his knuckles, grinning. "No problem! I'm on it!" He took off towards the clock tower, but only got a few blocks before MORE Biankys blocked his way. Once more he began to fight, but he has to do quite a bit of dodging this time, because they outnumber him 8-1!

Meanwhile, the lady, thinking herself safe, turned to leave, only to find a red-eyed Bianky's grabbing her wrist! She screamed, and Nick whipped around. "Ma'am! Hold on!" He tries to run towards her, but Biankys block his way. He angrily screamed, punching, kicking and even biting to get them out of his way. Nick fought his way towards the alley he had just left, but when he reached it he finds she's gone. He looks toward the clock tower. The only way he can save her is to kill Charles the Third.

Nick took off again, this time opting for the more stealthy approach, via rooftop. He jumps from roof to roof, and after three blocks he's really enjoying it. So much, in fact, that he starts to sing!

"Oh…I think we'll see a brighter side, I think we'll see a brighter side, I think we'll see a brighter side, I think we'll see a brighter…I think we'll see a brighter side…"

He spins in the air, lost in the moment, going "Ohhhhh…" like a tenor. However…there was no roof to jump onto, and he wasn't looking when he jumped.

Ten seconds later he's picking himself out of the trash, grumbling.

"This ain't how I wanted to spend my weekend, dammit!" "Get 'im, boys!" He looks up, to find himself facing down the infamous Black Joker and his gang. Joker's a taller, stronger Bianky soldier, who wears gentleman-rouge attire, with hat and all. He's even wearing black boots, and gloves. He's got a red rose pinned to his chest as well, and a rather large mustache, which makes him look comical…but the rapier on his back and deadly guns he's wielding make the situation serious.

Joker drew his guns, and 8 Biankys jumped at Nick. Nick raised his fists, swinging left and right, but Joker was just about to shoot him.

"Hold…ergh…still!" Nick kept swinging, but then a stray punch from a Bianky sent him back, and Nick was an open target. Joker laughed, and his finger squeezed the trigger…

Nick turned just in time to see Joker squeezing the trigger, and he begins to think as fast as he can. He thinks how he's failed that poor lady, the town, Joe, Blue, Sylvia…and his family and friends. He'll never see them again. All he wanted was to be a hero like Joe…

But if he goes down, he'll take Joker with him! Nick runs toward Joker, screaming "KAMIKAZEEEE!" Joker's eyes would have widened if they could have, and he doesn't react fast enough…Nick plowed into him with all his bulk, knocking the baddy over. The two began a good old-fashioned street brawl, kicking and scratching and punching and rolling around in the dirt. The wrestling match wasn't one-sided, the two seemed evenly matched. Nick's pretty strong, and he's almost as tall as Joker…but almost doesn't cut it, and Joker got the upper hand, kicking Nick in the stomach with his curved boot, and then adds more to the pain by throwing him into a store wall. Nick groaned, clutching his stomach, and Joker places his guns against the kid's forehead.

**BGM**: **Henshin a Go-Go, baby!**

"Say goodbye, punk…huh? That glow…" Nick looks down…the V-watch is responding to the heroness within him! The lovely little thing was shining brightly, a sort of heavenly glow coming from it…including a neat little tune. He did have a hero inside after all! Nick did a quick head-butt to Joker's face, and he got up. Ignoring the pain, he held out the v-watch and breathed deeply…

"TIME TO **ROCK**! **HENSHIN**!" He jumps up, punching the sky with his right fist making a "rock on" gesture. The v-watch shined and Nick felt the transformation. A green cape with a gold Polaris star on the back trails behind brilliant emerald green armor that has silver trimmings. A green headband/visor with gold decals was now present on Nick's head, and he now had silver boots and gloves. A big silver Polaris star was present on his chest as well, with a golden "N" emblazoned over the star. Nick struck a wonderful looking pose, laughing happily. Then he enthusiastically jumped into the air, spun around, and pointed right at Joker.

"You and the rest of JAGOW are **ALL GOING DOWN**!" He then fell down, landing deftly. Before Joker and his buddies could recover from the shock, Nick ran over, and, using a single SLOW punch, sent Joker flying into his men. Poor Joker rubbed his sore head, and turned to his men.

"Tactical retreat, buddies. Let's split!"

Joker and his gang promptly ran for it, screaming and hollering like something awful. "What cowards!" Nick said with a scoff. He looks at his stylish costume and flexes a bit. "I…I…I look great! In fact I might even say…"

He smiled wickedly.

"I'm…too sexy for my shirt…too sexy for my shirt…so sexy it HURTS…I'm too sexy for Milan…to sexy for Milan, New York and Japaaan! Oh I'm…too sexy for your party! Too sexy for your party! No way I'm disco dancing! Oh I'm a model…you know what I mean, and I do my little turn on the catwalk!"

He did a few turns, dancing very sexily.

"Oh the catwalk…yeah the catwalk! I shake my little tush on the catwalk!" He shook his ass in proper form, causing several onlookers to burst out laughing. He turned bright red, and then ran toward the clock tower. Every second counts!

Deep within the clock tower, Charles the Third was sitting in a big, plush, red chair. He sighed happily. He was in the middle of a very nice lunch, a tasty redhead who'd been brought in last night. He'd drained most of her blood now, and was finishing up. The woman in his wrapped arms tried to escape, but the most she could manage was to squirm a bit. It only exposed her neck more, which was what Charles enjoyed.

He licked his lips, opened his jaws wide, and bit deep into her neck with his fangs. Then he drew in her blood, something that not only filled him, but also gave him a rush, a sort of sick sexual pleasure. Draining a woman alive of her blood made him feel quite…WONDERFUL. The woman shuddered, and then died. He tossed the drained body into the corner, and snapped his fingers. An undead butler rose from the cement floor, changing from dust into solid form.

"Yeeesss?" "Take the body to the transmutation room…the usual process. Turn her into a living dust undead, like the rest. I'm timing you this time! SNORT."

"Of course sir. Shouldn't take more than 54 seconds…"

The butler walked over, grabbed the body, and disappeared, body and all, into the air. Charles chuckled. All the blood and slaves he wanted…what a deal! And best off all, Joe and his annoying buddies couldn't stop him! Who had the strength to stand up?

Nick knew that the townspeople could help the moment he saw the clock tower's doors were locked. If they could break down the doors, he could get in to trash Charles the Third… but every person he talked to said "No way." He'd scream, beg, pout, plead and threaten, but nobody would listen.

"Are you gutless or somethin'? Why don't you stand up! I can HELP YOU! But you gotta help me first!"

The townspeople looked away. They didn't want to talk. Nick let out a disgusted scoff. "Fine. I'll break the door with my bare hands!" He walked back towards the tower door, and attempted to pound away, only to find that his punches couldn't break the strong doors. He slumped to the ground and sighed sadly. How could he get in? How would he save the town now…

Deep within the bell tower, the woman was shivering. She'd been stuffed into a lonely room, and chained to the wall. There was only one window, and she couldn't reach it even if she COULD break free of the chains that bound her. She tried shouting, but her voice didn't seem to work. Then she heard whispering outside the door across from her chained body…

"So…the master is almost ready for dinner?" "Yes…in half an hour it will be supper. He says he'll completely drain this one…"

The lady found her voice, screaming at the top of her lungs, wailing and screeching like a banshee. Nick perked up, hearing her shouts. He turned to the townsfolk that had gathered at the bell tower, hearing the screams.

"You all hear that? You're gonna let that flying RAT run your lives and terrorize you? I won't let him hurt her! I'm going in…but you guys have to break down the door for me, I can't do it alone! Please…" He stood on one knee, begging. They all looked at each other, and then ran off. He hung his head in sorrow…then he heard a chant, coming closer. "BREAK IT DOWN! BREAK IT DOWN!" They were coming back, running full speed at the door with the Mother of All Battering-Rams! He ran to the side, and they broke down the door in a few good tries. He saluted them all, and ran up the stairs, two at a time.

The occasional Bianky tried to stop him…and the occasional Bianky got blown apart in one punch. He bounded up the stairs, reaching the top in about ten minutes. There were three rooms and another staircase. He headed towards the staircase out of curiosity, but the smell of decay and death drifted up from the bottom of the stairs, and he shook his head. He listened, and could hear moaning from the door on the left. He opened the door and found the woman hanging from the wall, chained. He ran over and broke the chains with a big tug. She fell into his arms and he propped her up against the wall. "It's all right…I'm gonna rescue you, ma'am. Just hold on…"

"You cannot save her if you can't save YOURSELF! SNORT." An annoying snort had given it away…Charles the Third, in all his ugly glory was standing in the doorway. He had golden earrings in his left ear, a big bat face with mighty fangs, and was wearing the attire of a nobleman. He even had white gloves. His big yellow eyes gleamed with a cruel hunger. Nick wasn't impressed, he just struck a fighting pose and said:

"LET'S END THIS." He activated the power of SLOW, and ran towards Charles the Third, who wasn't fast enough to dodge it, and was kicked into the hallway. He got up, growled, and flung himself into the room in the middle of the hallway. Nick told the woman to run down the stairs to the town, and ran after Charles.

He opened the door, a strange PURPLE door…that led to the main area of the clock tower, where the clocks gears and cogs were grinding and whirring. The machinery was enormous…and Charles the Third was flying in the air. The accent he had was almost as annoying as the nasal problem. It was European, probably Romanian, but instead of sounding cultured, it sounding grating.

"So…YOU are that kid whose family we took! SNORT. I am…Charles the Third, the mighty general of JAGOW! You are helpless…SNORT. Against our power, fool! I will drain you dry here, and then…SNORT. Get to work on that woman, ha-ha-ha! SNORT, SNORT!"

"You know…you sound really dumb with that snorting. Ever considered seeing a doctor, or getting some cold medicine?"

"I have a nasal problem that can't be solved-SNORT! With a simple prescription."

"With great nostrils comes great nasal congestivity!"

"Ha, haa. Not funny, fool. SNORT. I will destroy you know! PERISH AT THE HANDS OF…SNORT. CHARLES THE THIRD! HA-HA-HA-HA! Snort."

And with that, he dive-bombed Nick, who barely managed to SLOW-dodge the blow. Nick retaliated by jumping right at Charles and giving him a good punching to the gut, but Charles then spun rapidly, knocking Nick off. Charles the flew down onto the ground, and lunged at Nick, trying to grab his neck and drain him dry, but Nick did a fantastic SLOW uppercut to the charging bat, sending him flying onto a rotating disc that was spinning in the machinery. Nick jumped up onto it, and the two were going to "have at it" when Nick suddenly held up a hand.

"Hold it. If we're going to be fighting, let's get the BGM started." "Oh! You are quite right. SNORT. I forgot to start my theme song up. SNORT. A moment of your time…"

Charles snapped his fingers, and then the music began.

**BGM: Dark Fiend (Mysterious Flying Creature Charles the Third's Theme)**

Punches, kicks, the occasional bite attempt from Charles, the two were locked together in fierce combat, not willing to let up. Nick had the advantage though, because he'd been slowly driving Charles back into the way of a spinning pendulum-like object, and with a good punch to the face, Charles was knocked into the pendulums path…

Like a croquet ball hit by a mallet, he went flying…right into the clock towers face. It actually CRACKED the glass face of the clock tower! He growled and lunged right back at Nick, who once again jumped up, this time even HIGHER!

The cycle of punching and dodging began. Every time Nick would jump or duck a bite or punch or kick from Charles, and then use SLOW to knock him into the clock tower's face. The cracks were getting bigger…wider…filling up the glass.

"Once you're dead, the people will be dancing in the streets, Charley boy!" Nick called out as he hid behind a large cog. Charles flapped in the air, fuming in anger that a mere CHILD was beating him.

"Once YOU'RE dead, SNORT. I shall stick your head on a pike outside my tower-no! On TOP! SNORT. Then I'll kill the woman!" "You won't get a chance to!"

Nick wrenched off a big chunk of wood that had fallen from the ceiling and jumped right at a surprised Charles. Nick stabbed the big bat straight through his chest, and Charles let out an awful scream. He dissipated into several dozen little bat-machines, a strange trick Nick never thought he'd understand. He tried to hit the bats, but they scattered to far away from most of his punches, and then they reformed again a few dozen feet in the air, above Nick, turning once more into Charles the Third, via a puff of bad-smelling smoke. Like sulfur or something…

Nick took a quick glance at the very cracked clock tower face.

"One more should do it!" Thought Nick. He kicked at Charles the Third, fully expecting to knock the rotten bat into the face again, but this time the bat CAUGHT Nick's foot, and hung him upside down. Nick groaned, and his mind began to race. Things looked bad. Charles the Third began to laugh, and held Nick up higher…then he opened his jaws and leaned in close to suck Nick's blood.

But Nick wouldn't give up! He flailed around with his arms and legs, and a stray punch whacked Charles right in one of his big yellow eyes. Charles let out an unearthly screech, and put his hands to his eye, screeching and crying. Nick ordinarily wouldn't have used this chance to beat up a pretty defenseless person, but Charles WAS a sick vampire bat who had been drinking a woman dry every single day, so…

He grabbed Charles by one of his wings, and Charles screamed as he was swung round and round."See you later, you overgrown flying rat with wings!"

(The theme music stops.)

He tossed the screaming bat with all his strength, and Charles flew towards the face of the clock. "YOUR TIME'S UP, CHARLES THE THIRD!" Nick shouted. The glass face of the clock tower broke from the inside, and Charles the Third, the terrible Dark Fiend went tumbling down through the air amidst broken glass and wooden numbers and hands. He fell towards the hard ground, and landed with a squelchy THUD, but even then he wasn't dead. He turned on his side, and uttered out "This…SNORT…isn't over…" but suddenly squeaked in fear as a gigantic wooden hour hand fell down towards him. He screamed…

Ten or so minutes later, Nick walked out of the clock tower and looked at the body of Charles the Third. He had been impaled by the gigantic hand, and the body was twitching in its death throes. He shook his head.

"What a waste…of a perfectly good clock." He turned towards the townsfolk and saluted. "You all did a great job on helping me, and look! You're free now!" They all cheered, and swarming him, carried him off on their shoulders, shouting out "OUR HERO" and such.

Later, they had a huge feast in his honor, and he almost puked because he ate too much rib roast with gravy and mashed potatoes. Of course, the massive glasses of root beer didn't help, either. Either way, he was proud. He'd done good. Not bad for a hero-to-be, getting rid of a tough bad guy in just an hour. He wondered how long it had taken Joe.

He was generous offered a room to stay in at the Metro Hotel, and slept like a baby in his King-sized bed, falling asleep watching a free PPV. He dreamt of happily showing off his v-watch to his family, oh they would be proud!

"Just…wait…the best is to cooommmee…ZZZZZ…"

Far away, a big, gigantic green creature was staring down angrily at a shivering Bianky. "Whaddya mean, Charley got iced?" "He was killed sir…that human, Nicholas…he…he threw him out of the clock tower, and Charles was impaled by a falling hour hand." The creature rubbed it's chin. "I had a feelin' he'd go that way…but that ain't the point!" "Then what IS the point, sir?" The green monster leaned in close, leering. "You interrupted my _song_, boy…y'all know what that means." The Bianky would have turned white with shock and horror if he could have. "No sir, please…spare me…" The creature let out a deep, bass laugh, and shook it's head. Three large claws grabbed a gigantic black axe with silver decals that was hanging from the wall.

The poor Bianky covered its head…for all the good that did it. Its head went flying across the floor in one good stroke, and then another separated much of it's chest from the rest of it's body. The head's single red eye dyed out and the body collapsed on the floor. Hulk reminded himself to have another Bianky clean the mess up. The "Iron Ogre" let out another deep laugh, and then continued to sing his little rap song.

Elsewhere, in a dark warehouse, underneath a barely bright light, a gigantic red dinosaur in army fatigues was observing the new, dark flag of JAGOW. It looked scary and sinister to all that saw it. The letters JAGOW were written in ghastly blood on the flag, against a pure black background. Almost black, anyway. If you took a closer look you could see that terrible images of evil and cruelty were occurring in the background of the flag, drawn in VERY dark grey. Kind of like a sick "find the hidden picture in the picture" thing. But Big John the dinosaur drill sergeant liked the red the best. It really caught his eye. He'd been staring at it for fifteen minutes, just looking at the bloody letters. And to think, he thought, in a few days we'll have this flag flying from every single enemy city's flagpole!

A sudden burst of static cut this thinking short, and a voice spoke out from his army radio. "We've got a problem, sir. Charles is dead…killed by that kid you were eyeing…Nick Grey." "WHAT? That civilian took down one of our generals? That's insurrection! That's against regulations for a civilian to kill a commanding officer! He's to be executed, you GOT THAT?" Big John screamed those last words into the radio, and the receiver on the other end grimaced. The bianky let out a "Roger", and then the radio shut off. Big John turned away from the flag and clenched the two mighty claws on his left hand. The fool would pay…oh he would pay! Such rebellious behavior could NOT be tolerated, certainly not in such a large state of emergency like this! He lumbered towards the exit, already thinking of vile tortures he'd use on Nick.

Farther still away, Alastor looked down at the scared family of Nick, and grinned when he saw Matt was still admiring Alastor's threads.

"You really like my looks, don't you?" "You're pretty cool." "Thanks…too bad you're going to have to die, along with the rest of these humans. You seem to have good taste." "Why do you want to kill my best friend's family?" Matt seemed very angry now. Alastor sighed, and stared right into Matt's eyes.

"I don't honestly know myself, kid."


	5. Dinosaurs, Spying and Nukes, oh my!

**YOU THERE! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, READING THIS CLASSIFIED INFORMA-Okay, it's not classified. But it _should_ be…it contains information on one of JAGOW's biggest mistakes…and that was underestimating that civilian, Nick Grey. He killed one of our commanding officers, General Charles the Third, and he has to pay. I, Big John, will carry out the execution MYSELF.**

**Why are you looking at me like that? **

**Oh, right. You haven't heard of me. **

**Well I'M an old general of GEDOW. We opposed Viewtiful Joe and his dumb girlfriend after he beat JADOW. You people don't know about THAT yet, because the sequel to "Viewtiful Joe" hasn't been released yet, but when it is, look for me! I'll be popping up ALL the time!**

**Wait, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, right!**

**I can do anything I wish in this sector…and my dinosaur slave-armies and Bianky platoons are tearing the outer city regions apart. Soon we'll surround the nearby city of Movieopolis, and launch a full-scale strike, taking out their defenses, and moving in to destroy them. I could use a little snack, anyway. **

**Just wait, Nick Grey…you're about to get a sentence worse than court-martialing! Time to move out!**

**

* * *

**

Nick rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Hmm…what to do…

This would be a tough decision.

Cocoa Crisp or Cinnamon Toast Crunch?

Nick liked chocolate a lot, but he liked cinnamon toast too. Hmm…this would be tough. His hair was messy, and signs of bed-head still remained. He'd fix it up after breakfast and a shower, he decided. But first he had to pick what cereal to eat.

A kid set down some Lucky Charms and he instantly changed grabbed a bowl from the cupboard of the hotel's kitchen.

The hotel was packed with people who had all come to see the "Triumphant new action hero, Nick Grey." Already the papers were talking about what a great job he'd done on Charles the Third, whose body hadn't been moved quite yet. People hadn't finished dancing around the body yet, you see.

Nick scarfed down the bowl of Lucky Charms, and then rushed upstairs to take a nice, relaxing shower. Very relaxing…ahh…a nice hot shower really soothed the sore muscles after a fight!

He even began to sing a little, belting out the entire ballad of "99 Red Balloons".

"99 red balloons, floating in the summer sky! Panic bells, it's red alert! There's something here from somewhere else…a war machine it springs to life! Opens up one eager eye! Focuses in on the sky, as 99 red balloons go byyyy!" He then drew the shower curtain aside after finally finishing the song, only to find about five people were present in the bathroom. One was holding up a lighter, and the rest were clapping.

"Encore!" they said.

After Nick had shooed them out of the shower, he dried himself off with a large, blue towel and headed back to his room to change into his newly washed and dried clothes. Boy, the hotel did EVERYTHING for him! He put them back on, and their fresh from the dryer-warmth comforted him a little bit more. He looked out his bedroom window and smiled at how sunny and bright the day was. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky, even!

Which was a good thing…because if there HAD been…he might have not seen it.

But see it he did. A MISSILE. Heading right towards the hotel! HOLY SHIT!

Nick ran into the corridor, screaming that a missile was coming, and that everyone should run out of the hotel NOW. People screamed and ran, kids cried and parents picked them up in their arms as they stampeded down stairs and into elevators.

Nick, however, opened up the window and squirmed out onto the nice, not-too-slanted roof of the hotel, and took a closer look at the missile. It was red tipped, with a black paint job on it. It looked very large.

But Nick had a plan! Once more he shouted out "TIME TO **ROCK! HENSHIN**!" and transformed. Then he positioned himself on the roof, and waited for the missile to come closer…closer…eventually it came close enough for Nick to use SLOW!

Now the missile was moving very slowly. Slow enough for Nick to run across the roof, jump at it, and punch it in it's head. The missile spun around and around, and the turned itself in the opposite direction…towards a very large forest. Hmm…

Nick decided to investigate, Grabbing onto the tail of the missile, he road the rocket of death into the forest, as it slowly curved towards the trees…heading towards what was obviously a military installation. There were radar poles, tons of bianky soldiers, and tents, tents, tents EVERYWHERE! A mess hall and infirmary made up the northwest part of the camp, and in the center was a tall flagpole with a sickening black and red flag flying from it's top. JAGOW was at it again.

Nick noticed that the missile was now turning to the EAST…towards the missile silos of the camp. He jumped off into a heavily brushy tree, and watched in satisfaction s the missile flew right into a silo that was just pushing another missile up. The resulting explosion from the crash caused BOTH missiles to explode, something that ended up taking out the silos nearby…and several dozen soldiers to boot.

Nick would have jumped for joy, but he didn't want to be seen. Stealth was the name of this game, after all. An angry roar suddenly made him wince. It was a slightly odd sound, which sounded sort of alien. He'd heard sounds like it before, similar roars…but they didn't compare to the REAL thing. Then he made the connection. It was an army's base, wasn't it? And the missiles…and the army fatigues everywhere…this meant one thing.

JAGOW soldiers…and they meant business. Nick looked at the flagpole of the base, where a HUGE red tyrannosaurus was screaming at quivering Biankys. He had two large claws on the end of each arm, and big taloned feet. He was wearing a large, bulletproof jacket of some sort, with a big green belt and army boots. Typical camouflage pants were also present. The dinosaur had large yellow eyes like Charles the Third, and had MANY, MANY, sharp teeth and a big red tongue. His accent made him sound just like what he was…a drill sergeant.

The dinosaur was roaring in anger and frustration, pissed that the silos had been blown to kingdom come. "WHAT TO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW HOW IT HAPPENED? YOU FUCKED UP SOMEHOW, YOU STUPID IDIOTS! YOU'RE ALL GOING TO BE COURT-MARTIALED FOR THIS! " Not a single soldier spoke up, all hung their heads. The drill sergeant Big John paced back and forth, fuming in anger.

"It's probably the work of Nick Grey…that stupid civilian did SOMETHING…I just know it…"

Nick had an urge to go up and kick the big dolt, but he suppressed it. Big John then turned to the soldiers again and shouted out something that scared Nick a lot…

"We are to attack at 0900, you got that? 0900!" His biankys nodded. "9:00 on the dot, sir!" "Now move out!"

Suddenly a little radio message sprung from the sergeant's clip-on radio. He held it up to his ear, and nodded. Uttering out a "Over and out", he addressed them again.

"Change of plans…we attack in 2 hours instead of 3. MOVE OUT!" He saluted them, and then walked off, each step shaking the ground. Nick was shaking either way, in fear and horror. Two hours before the city would be attacked…SHIT!

He needed a plan! A James-Bond style plan…

A nuke! He needed a nuke! He'd get a nuke to detonate in the middle of the base, blow up Big John and company, and then return to the city, triumphant again! He grinned, and looked down at the ground. Then he looked around to make sure nobody saw him jump down. He quickly ran over to a weapons storage warehouse, and took a peek in it's window, avoiding a few measly sentries. The warehouse was LOADED to the brim with guns, missiles and ammunition. There were some torture devices in there too. He saw an old-fashioned medieval torture rack among the piles of guns. But the missiles were enormous, and just right for blowing up a large military base.

Now to sneak in…hmm…

Nick looked around. If anyone heard him try to go in through the window, he'd be screwed. The sound of glass breaking was a universal sound of trouble. If only he had a razor he could use to slowly cut the window open with…wait! A sharp rock was below the window. Now he needed time…and time was something he had a lot of…if he used SLOW/

He quickly and quietly whispered "Time to rock, HENSHIN." and transformed again. He then used the power of SLOW to cut open a large hole to climb through. After a piece fell out, he grabbed it and stuffed it in his pocket. He squirmed into the window (The suit REALLY slimmed you down) and then SLOWLY replaced the glass. He ducked to the left of the glass so as not to be seen, and gazed at the many missiles and guns. Hmm…he needed a timer-bomb, and a freakingly powerful missile that could annihilate anything within a one mile radius.

He found a timer-bomb easily enough…but it was at the top of a pile of machine guns. CRAP! He carefully and SLOWLY climbed up the hill of guns, and managed to pick the timer-bomb off. Then he jumped back to the ground, and placed it down. Now for the missile.

There was "Big Bertha"…naw.

"Johnny Rocketfingers"…nope.

"Little Big Man…"…good movie, by the way. But not a good missile.

Then he found it. It looked like a little wind-up toy. It was labeled "Big Boy". The warning label on it's side said anything within a one mile radius of the missile would be fried to bits. PERFECT.

He picked up the two bombs and placed them in separate pockets. Then he snuck out towards the window…only to find that someone was opening the back door of the warehouse! Sentry Biankys!

He dived into a pile of dynamite, and realized only then how HEAVY the stuff was. It was practically crushing him. The Biankys were doing a little inspection of the warehouse, joking and jesting. One of them was talking about how much being in the army sucked. The other was making comments on "How I'd rather have joined Gran Bruce's division if it hadn't been for my sea-sickness."

Leave you dicks…LEAVE. But they kept joking and laughing. Nick had had enough. He slowly stepped out from the dynamite, and activated SLOW again, creeping up on them. They never saw what punched their heads off. Nick clapped his hands, and turned…

Only to have the warehouse lights turn on instantly, illuminating the entire place…making the dark warehouse lighter…and it was now easy to see inside the place.

"Curse you, "clapper"!"Nick muttered.

People were turning their heads to see inside the newly lit warehouse, and Nick tore out of the place, ducking out the exit and hiding in a bunch of bushes as sentries ran towards the warehouse.

Now though, the center of the camp was clear. Nick took a quick look around, and then ran towards the flagpole. He placed the bomb underneath a flimsy cardboard box next to the timer bomb, and then ran like hell out of the camp, headed towards the city.

Meanwhile, Big John was tapping his feet. How long was it gonna take? He wasn't a patient person. When would he arrive?

Nick ran and ran and ran…and finally noticed he was near the "You are entering Movieopolis" sign. It was finally in sight. He took another step forward…and then a big form stepped out of the bushes.

"My men may not have seen you in the tree…but I did. You're that civilian, Nick Grey. You seem to be impersonating an officer now…ANOTHER offense added to your list of charges! Your sentence is death, carried out by the commanding officer of the 4th Elite Panzer Division! The promotion is recent. Anyway…on to executing you. You're POND scum compared to the mighty JAGOW forces, and it's time someone put you in your place."

"Uh, where on Earth did you come from?" "I'm a former member of GEDOW, another organization of evil…not that you'll be around long enough in ANY world to get the game where I appear in." "So they DO make a sequel." "They make three." "Cool!" "And I'M in the second one. Half of our forces from JADOW, half from GEDOW, to make the JAGOW!" "Okaaaay…" "Anyway, on to executing you."

"Don't forget a nice army tune to fight by!" "Oh, right! I forgot all about that…I'll give myself corporal punishment later for forgetting." He pressed a button on his belt, and the theme music started up.

**BGM: Drill Sergeant (Dinosaur Sergeant Big John's Theme)**

"You're not going to be able to punish yourself…because I'm making you extinct right now!"

Big John let out a terrible roar, and charged Nick, who ran around the charging dinosaur. Big John simply whipped his tail, causing Nick to go flying into a tree. He slid down, groaning. Big John let out a loud laugh, and charged again. Nick scrambled up the tree, and the drill sergeant crashed into the tree, letting out a groan himself. He plopped onto his butt, and rubbed his head. Nick took the opportunity to jump down at perform a river-dance on the jerk's head. The merry kicking jig gave Big John a mighty headache, and the dinosaur staggered back in agony, jerking his head so Nick went flying off.

Nick landed deftly, giving him a "Come on" gesture with his left hand. The dino suddenly pulled out the biggest freaking bazooka Nick had ever seen! Nick ducked just in time as the bazooka's missile flew off, blowing up a nearby grove of trees. Nick ran towards the crazy sergeant as the said sergeant fired off ANOTHER round. Nick used SLOW this time, and as it slowly inched towards him, he punched with all his might, and the missile flew right back at Big John, who went flying back about 20 yards from the resulting explosion.

Nick ran up and did another river-dance kicking jig on Big John's head, but this time Big John snapped his head back quite quickly, and Nick went flying straight up into the air. Big John opened up his jaws, and Nick fell right into the dinosaur's open maw. The jaws snapped, and Big John gulped, then laughed in success…only to find that Nick was stuck in his throat! He clawed at his throat, desperate to remove the kid, and tried coughing him back up…but it was too late. He let out a gurgle, and fell over. His wide mouth opened up in the process, and Nick climbed out. He dusted himself off, and spat out dino drool.

"Yuck. No wonder you guys went extinct. You never brushed your teeth! Shouldn't you at least take a breath mint?" Suddenly Big John regained consciousness, and stood up, roaring! He charged at Nick, slashing with his claws. Nick jumped back, and back and back, and then found himself up against a tree AGAIN. Big John charged…

And Nick performed a slick move that Joe would have been proud off. Using SLOW, he ran up the tree and kicked off, landing on Big John's head. A mighty kicking jog resulted AGAIN, and Nick put extra "oomph" into this recent assault, giving the jerk one last big kick as he jumped off. Big John staggered back quite a long ways, and Nick recognized this was his chance to blow the base up to kingdom come. He pulled out the timer from the timer bomb, and pressed the trigger mechanism down.

An enormous dome of fire erupted from the center of the base, and it quickly consumed the whole area, sweeping through the forest…towards HIM! He took a look at Big John, who was point right at Nick, totally unaware of the approaching nuclear Armageddon.

"YOU'RE FINISHED, YOU MAGGOT!" "Hey Big John…know what killed the jungle-dwelling dinosaur? ME." With that, Nick tossed the now-useless trigger and ran towards the city at full speed. Big John stupidly stared after him, but then heard the roar of the fiery explosion approaching. He turned just in time to see it coming at him, and fast. He let out a scream of fear, and vainly held out his hands to stop it, but the moment he was encased in the growing blast zone he combusted with a disgusting sort of squelchy "pop"-like sound.

(Stop the music)

Big John was now fossil fuel…but Nick was still not in the safety of the city. He was running quite fast with MACH SPEED, but it wasn't fast enough. He didn't get fried, but he was hit by the last remnants of the shock-wave that resulted, and went flying into the city, landing hard on the sidewalk. People crowded around, and his vision was all blurry and darkening…he lost consciousness before anyone could do anything, and he wondered, before leaving the physical world, if he'd really saved the city.

Many miles away, Hulk Davidson was polishing his axe. He had recently gotten the call that Big John AND Charles had been "iced" by that "son of a bitch" Nick Grey. It was time for Hulk to step up to the challenge. The kid couldn't just get away with killing two generals…that stirred up rebellion in the areas that JAGOW needed to conquer.

Hulk grinned a nasty grin, and swung his axe around a bit. Ah…what a lovely SWOOSH. He had been yearning for action for quite a while now…and finally he could get his wish.

Meanwhile, Alastor was playing cards with Bloody Rachel, bored and…unhappy.

He had liked it better when he'd been fighting against Joe and his friends. There wasn't a challenge to conquer anymore now that they were incapacitated.

However the kid Nick brought a smile to Alastor's face. The kid was turning out to be a tough fighter. Maybe worthy of Alastor.

But what…what was this that he was feeling? A memory…of…of fighting AGAINST evil…with that girl…that girl, Goldie. Sylvia's sister, her twin sister. Memories, of a romantic evening out with Goldie, a trip to the movie's that went bad. Of seeing Captain Blue give him the v-watch…and of him fighting against JADOW. He remembered…and what was this that he was feeling? Was it really-nah.

It couldn't be. _Nostalgia?_

Bloody Rachel was silent. She wasn't really interested in helping JAGOW…she was secretly rooting for Nick.

Originally, Rachel had been happily hanging out in a nice beach area in Movieland, giving tours of the area. When JAGOW had come to "collect her", she pretended that she had been working undercover, looking for traces of Joe. They bought it completely, but maybe that was just because they were too busy looking at her golden, robotic body to care about what she was saying.

But nevertheless, the JAGOW generals thought she was back to her normal "destroy everything that's Joe" self, and she had to act the part. She emotionlessly pronounced that she had four queens, and thus beat Alastor's three of a kid. Alastor grumbled, and reshuffled the deck. Guard duty sucked. A LOT.

He found himself wishing he was with Goldie again…remembering how beautiful she'd been…how much he'd cared about her…remembering the kiss she'd given him.

_Could it be nostalgia?_


	6. Hulk and the Hospital

**Yo yo yo yo yo! What up? What up, homies? I'm Hulk Davidson, and I was born to raise hell, boy! **

**I'm all that, kid. I ain't no perpetrator, I'm a soul survivor! A high roller! A gangsta. Anyone who says otherwise ain't gonna MATTER much longer, got that!**

**I've been watchin' that kid Nick's moves for a while now. He took out Charley and Johnny, but he hasn't done much of anything else since then. Wanna know WHYYY?**

**Cuz he's currently paralyzed! He got himself caught in that shock-wave that he himself set off, and he's stuck in a hospital bed! Perfect target. **

**I'm gonna ice that bitch, and he'll be LUCKY if he's in only two pieces when I'm through! See ya'll later, fools! But ya'll know I'm gonna win, right? Am I right? Am I RIGHT? **

**Course I'm right. **

* * *

Thoughts…even his thoughts were slightly paralyzed. This really sucked.

Sucked…sucked…sucked…sucked…sucked…

The word echoed through his head, reverberating over and over. He'd saved the city TWICE now, and god they were grateful. He'd gotten a room with a view, the biggest bed they could place him in, and his meals were home-cooked and great. The best part though, the part that made life worth living in the hospital, was that the hospital had 400 channels! And DVR! Somebody kill me, they had DVR.

Why doesn't somebody kill me? He had originally thought. Living as a paraplegic was not an option to him…but he'd gotten over that selfish hump. Paralyzed from the chest down or not, he was still a hero, and he'd just treat his paralysis as another obstacle to overcome.

He'd been in the bed for five days now, and although he didn't know it, two big things were happening.

1…Hulk Davidson was already close to the city, only one day away.

2…his foot was falling asleep.

But WAIT! His foot was paralyzed, his foot shouldn't feel AYNTHING. His foot wasn't really falling asleep…it was waking up! His legs were getting better!

He wiggled his toes to test it…yes! Both feet had finally shaken off the shackles of paralysis! He ran for the nurse, and in a few hours a large crowd of well-wishers, Joe and company included, swarmed into the room, saying how happy they were that he was getting better.

Nick grinned painfully at Joe and the others. "Hello guys. I guess I overdid it a little on that last fight…"

Joe stuck out the thumb and pink finger of his right hand, wiggling it a bit. "Dude, what you did was MAJOR sweet." "Ugh…Cotton Candy Sweet or Caramel Apple Sweet?" "Total CCS, dude." "Sweet!" "I don't understand it, Daddy. What's CCS and CAS?" "It's a modern, hip thing." Joe rolled his eyes. "Dude…nobody says "hip" much. Not anymore." "Really? Dang." Nick nodded sympathetically. "Don't worry. It's cool. I'm still kinda learning how to talk cool myself."

Nick wiggled his feet a bit and smiled. "So my feet are back up…soon my legs will be too, right Doctor?" The doctor by his bedside nodded. "If you give them a little bit more time, yes, but what you need right now is REST." "Okay, doc. Hey Joe…can I have all your autographs NOW?" The three viewtiful allies laughed, and Nick held out a piece of paper. They all signed it, and Nick grinned happily, eyes lighting up like a kid at Christmas.

"This is so cool! I have some many questions I wanna ask you all." "Like what?" "Well, Joe…what's it like knowing you're a superstar, but also knowing that people don't think you exist?" "It's kinda strange dude. People think I'm cool, but they think of me only as something fake that's cool. It's like I'm real…but in a way I'm not. I can't explain it."

Silvia wrapped her arms around her fiancée and smiled happily. "But he doesn't really care about it. None of us do. We're perfectly content where we are. Who cares if we're "real" or not. We're real to each other...and THAT'S what really matters, if you're real to the ones you love." "Syvlia, that is...sniff..." Joe was crying a little. "That is so beautiful!" He hugged her. Nick nodded. He could feel the love too. "A few more questions, guys. Capt. Blue, where's your wife?" "Vacation. She wanted to catch a tan." "And where's Goldie?" "Hmm…we haven't heard from Goldie recently. She's been missing for a while now. Maybe we better go check up on her…"

"Can you tell me about this, uh…this organization GEDOW?"

Blue sighed and sat down on a nearby chair.

"Well…it's a long story…"

(I'm not about to give away the story behind Viewtiful Joe 2. You want to know what it's like, get the game and/or Wikipedia it! Now!)

One long, gripping, story later…

"That's _heavy_ man." "Yeah." "How's Jet doing now?" "He's cool, he's cool. Catching some rays at the beach, probably."

The doctor then shooed everyone out of the room, saying Nick needed quiet rest. Nick sighed, and drifted off into a nap.

In the elevator of the hospital, a single occupant was coming up to the top. He wielded a very large black axe and had a sort of smug grin on his big, reptilian face. The 7th floor was coming up in five, four, three, two…

DING! The doors to the elevator opened, and it's occupant leisurely stepped out, walking down the hall towards the room Nick was currently in.

Speaking of Nick…

Nick moaned a little. His feet had fallen asleep again, and now his legs were sore. Wait…sore? That meant they weren't paralyzed anymore! He grabbed the little lever by his bed and pulled down on it, the intercom snapped on. "Yes?" the doctor's voice said through it. "My legs are working, doc!" "Oh really? Interesting…well they won't be working very long." "Huh?" The intercom shut off right then, and Nick blinked in confusion. What the? Wouldn't be working lo-uh oh.

Suddenly a dozen images of the doctor flashed back to Nick. The doctor had ALWAYS had glasses and a mask on, and was always cloaked up in a big white coat. You could barely see his pale…white…skin…

He didn't have white gloves on…those had been his hands! And the doctor's voice had been kinda irritating at times, like a…like a BIANKY'S VOICE! Oh crap, oh crap! Nick thought, and looked around. His watch had been taken off, and was currently on the table next to him. He had to get it!

He reached out…and reached…and reached…

"ROOM SERVICE." A big booming voice called out. The door was then smashed in two by a good punch, and a big, hulking green form stepped into the room. "Aw, crap! It's _you_, Hulk Davidson!"

Hulk Davidson had on a motorcycle jacket that didn't cover up his big chest and bigger belly. He had three large and clawed fingers, and his left hand was gripping a freakishly large black axe that had a skull painted on its side. He was wearing black pants that looked fit to burst, and biker boots to match. He had yellow eyes and a reptilian/rhino-like face, (With a black biker helmet adorning the top, horned and all) with a few teeth that were curved up and sticking out of the back of his large mouth. He grinned ferociously, and stomped on the ground a bit like a sumo wrestler, flexing his muscles.

"Yeah, that's right! I'm Hulk Davidson, and I was born to be wiiiild!" (Now, it's kind of hard to write accents all the time, so when Hulk talks, imagine that he's talking in a deep, African-American accent…and he sounds a bit like Mr. T.)

"Just don't start singing. I'm sick enough." "WHAT? You better not be insulting my songs, boy! Are you saying I can't carry a tune at all?"

Nick grinned wickedly. The big jerk was SO asking for it. "Oh no, oh nooo…it's just that I like listening to MUSIC, not cats getting squashed." "WHY YOU…GRRR…I was gonna try to make this quick boy, but just for that, I'm gonna slice you into so many pieces they'll need a pair of tweezers to pick up your remains!"

Hmm…Hulk wasn't the smartest member of JAGOW according to Joe and Sylvia…so maybe…

"You can't beat me up without…ah, you wouldn't be interested." "Huh? Without WHAT?" "Without the proper paperwork, duh." "What paperwork?" "There's forms you gotta fill out if you want to drag me out and beat me up." "Oh right…I guess I do need to sign something if I want you out of this room." "Yeah, so go do the paperwork. Ask the nurse, for starters. She'll help you out." "Okay, thanks!"

Hulk wandered off, singing a little piece by Vanilla Ice, which made Nick squirm uncomfortably.

Hulk found the nurse and asked where he could find the form that would remove Nick from the room, and she told him to go to the reception desk and ask for form 5-1. He walked down the LONG, LONG, stairs…and waddled up to the desk.

"I want the form that removes patients from their rooms, form 5-1." "No, no! You need form 5-1A! You have to find the main office of Dr. Slandofsky. He's on the third floor, take the elevator, and then he'll be on the third door on your left." "Okay…"

Unfortunately, Hulk weighed so much, that the elevator BARELY dragged him to the third floor, and by the time he got off and made for the office, Nick had already sprung his plan into motion.

Nick knew he was really in for it when Hulk came back, so he sprang into action, and wrenched himself off the bed, legs first, praying that they'd work…

YES! His legs twisted like he'd hoped they would, and he walked over to the table, putting on his v-watch.

"Let's do it then…TIME TO **ROCK! HENSHIN**!" The miraculous transformation took place once more, and Nick was fully clothed in his viewtiful attire. He knew there was only one place he might be able to fight more freely…on the roof. He carefully made his way to the window, and looked out…the roof was slanted on his end, but only slightly. The very top was quite flat, and large. Nevertheless, he'd have to be careful.

Meanwhile, Hulk had FINALLY gotten the form, but now he needed three doctor's signatures and the reception desk had to fill it out as well. He'd walked all over the hospital, and had gotten the signatures, and was now taking the elevator down to the reception desk…

Bad idea. It practically free-fell, and it slammed nastily into the ground, causing a very sore and unhappy Hulk to stagger out, mumbling something about "giving him props" and "icing that bitch". When he finally got his head together, he walked over to the reception desk, and placed it down. "Sign there, lady." "I TOLD you, the port is by the seaside-oh! It's you. Right, hold on…"

She took FOREVER to sign, but once she had, Hulk took off, going up the stairs as fast as he could. He made it back to the room, and drew his axe. Hulk pressed a button on his big, golden belt, and theme music began playing. He looked around, and saw that Nick had vanished…

Then he saw the window was open. He grumbled. This was taking FOREVER!

**BGM: Iron Ogre (Mysterious Herculean Being Hulk Davidson's Theme) **

Hulk sort of waddled over, and tried to fit through, only to find he was stuck…and Nick was right in front of him, looking very smug.

He squatted down in front of Hulk and grinned. "Ever seen a Rockette dance?" Nick asked. "No…" "I think it goes something like THIS!" He promptly began doing a kicking routine that was unmistakably the Can-Can, and kicking Hulk's face every time his foot went up or down.

Bam bam, ba-ba-ba-ba bam bam! Ba-ba-ba-ba bam bam! Ba-ba-ba-ba bam, ba-ba-ba bam, bam!

Poor Hulk was taking a nasty beating, but he suddenly snarled and with a mighty HEAVE broke through the window, shattering it and some of the wall around it into pieces that fell down to the street below. Nick looked down at the remains.

"Uh…I ain't paying for that." Hulk swung his axe down, and Nick jumped up to the top of the roof with a mighty double jump. Hulk waddled up the roof, and the fight really took off.

Hulk began swinging his axe left and right, attempting to cut Nick in half. Nick simply ducked or jumped, and Hulk decided for a change in tactics. He snorted, and then charged at Nick! Nick ran like hell, but when he reached the edge of the roof, he realized he couldn't really run away! So he jumped over the charging Hulk, who seemed to fall off the roof with a scream. Nick breathed a sigh of relief, and began walking back towards his window…when Hulk suddenly jumped back onto the roof!

Nick whirled around, looking very cheated. "Hey…I thought you were a pavement pancake!" "As if! No perpetrator like you could ever beat me, boy!" "If there's any perpetrators on this roof, they're the ones wearing black." Hulk wasn't amused, and he simply TOSSED his axe in a broad arc. Nick didn't see this coming, and was slashed in the chest. He screamed in pain, and grabbed it. Blood seeped down from the wound as the axe circled back to Hulk. "Now hold still again, kid."

Nick was pretty angry now, but his need for a snappy retort took precedence over being furious. "You may have been born to be wild, but I was born to run! MACH SPEED!" Hulk gasped. Oh no…this was bad.

He readied his axe again, but Nick was faster than him, running right up to him and then giving him a mighty SLOW punch right underneath his big face, yelling out "YOU ASSHOLE!"

Hulk went flying into the air, and Nick jumped up, looking very angry. "This time when I knock you down, stay down!" He slammed both his hands into Hulk's gut, and the Iron ogre went flying down to the roof, making a large crater. He groaned in pain, and Nick dusted himself off. "Serves you right." He began walking off when Hulk suddenly called out, saying "Not so fast…"

Nick turned again and a mighty punch sent him flying across the roof. He slammed into a power generator that was on the top and groaned. Hulk waddled over and chuckled in a deep voice. "Now…YOU stay dead." Nick rubbed his sore head, then whacked his elbow against the generator. Wait…a generator…and the axe was made up of solid iron. Painted black, but still iron…

Nick had learned that touching the delicate equipment of a generator was dangerous if you weren't protected safely. Sticking a metal screwdriver into the generator's mainframe while the machine was running would give you a shock that could kill you. Iron was a great conductor of electricity too; he'd learned that in a book on chemistry…

Nick positioned himself, and when Hulk brought the axe down, he rolled out of the way. Hulk's axe was embedded in the generator, and he only had time to raise one eyebrow before he reaped the repercussions.

Ouch. Ever seen a guy get electrocuted? It's not pretty. The smell alone almost caused Nick to vomit, but he walked over to the smoking, barely alive Hulk. "I know this comes as a SHOCK to you…but you're not street. Got it?" Hulk nodded. "Daaaannnggg…" he managed to get out, and then his eyes glazed over in death.

(Stop the music)

Nick let out a sigh of relief, and made his way back to his room. He plopped down in his bed, and drifted off into a nap just as Joe, Blue and Sylvia entered the room. They had heard the sounds of the fight, and had come to help, but they were a little late…and Nick, triumphant, was snoozing on the bed…

And his pants had been ripped…right on the butt. Sylvia started giggling, and Joe goggled at the sight. Blue averted his eyes as he placed a towel over the bared ass.

And many miles away, in an ancient temple underneath the ground, a gigantic figure was sleeping…soon to be awakened. A familiar demon in purple armor was walking towards the figure…


	7. In With Flint

**Ah…hello there. I am Flinty, yah? Please do not make fun of accent, or your ass will get a kicking. **

**I am supposed to be guarding something big…6 Machine. Da thing that Captain Blue uses, yah? But he's not gonna get to it because he's got no v-watch, ha ha. But dat kid, Nick…he got one. So he's a threat, yah?**

**And threats…gotta be taken care of. Yah? And who better to do it than me, Flinty! Yah…aah. I'm tired…Sleepy time again…**

**ZZZ…**

* * *

Nick sat down on his hospital bed, and listened calmly to the worried (and in Joe's case, awed) voices of those around him. 

"You could have been killed!"

"You were in no condition-"

"Sweet moves, man! You're a'ight."

"What the heck were you thinking, Nick?"

"Young man, you are-"

Nick nodded, and "uh-huhed" and smiled politely, all the while thinking "When are they gonna LEAVE!". He had an awful headache, and he needed a nap. Luckily, Captain Blue sensed Nick's predicament.

"I think we should all give Nick some time to rest. He needs some time to recover after that fight. Please, everyone leave." He ushered and shooed people away, and then only he, Joe and Sylvia were left. "You're tired, huh?" Joe asked. Nick nodded, he was already lying down, head on the pillow. "Well we'll let you sleep. You did great, Nick." "Yes. He gave me THIS scar…but that one was deep. All you've got is that nasty cut on your chest, and that'll heal up in a few days. My eye won't grow back." It was true, Captain Blue's right eye had been slashed, and a terrible scar was left where his eye should be, trailing down his cheek and slightly up his forehead. He no longer had vision in that eye, but his left eye was still fine.

Nick simply nodded, and then muttered "Goodnight." Then he dropped off into sleep. The others looked at each other. "Man…he's_bitching_, Blue!" "He does have great skills…but he needs more training." "Yeah, he hasn't used ZOOM yet, and I wonder if he's gotten any other powers…" "We'll need to send him out on a training mission. One that will be SAFE. No JAGOW powers involved." "Right. Why not send him out to the desert region? He can practice there, on the buttes and among the tumbleweed and stuff. How about that?" "Hmm…I don't see why not. And he can learn how to summon 6 Machine there." "That's right! He hasn't summoned 6 Machine yet!" "But how's he gonna summon 6 Machine? You said to me that the summon words were different for every person who needed it!"

This was true. For Captain Blue, he simply uttered the phrase "Let's go, 6 Machine!" Joe yelled "Come on, Six Machine", Sylvia shouted "Let's do it! Ready, 6 Machine?" and even Alastor had a call phrase: "Let's fly, 6 Machine, you old rustbucket!" What would Nick use?

Nick was too deeply asleep to hear all of this. He was visualizing being hugged by his family, grateful for a dramatic rescue. And what was this? Bloody Rachel was striding forward, and she looked very sexy…she had her lips spread, and his were being spread too…

Oooooh…

Nick sighed happily…

About 5 hours later, he woke up, and was surprised to find that Joe and the others had left a note: "Meet us outside the hospital on the main intersection." Nick shrugged, and got out of bed.

Half an hour later he was at the intersection, where the others were waiting. "We've decided you need some time to train and hone your powers Nick. You haven't even used ZOOM yet, and who knows what other moves you've got. So that's why you're to head off into the Desert Region. You'll train for a few days there, then head back by calling Six Machine." "Okay…I'll need supplies for three da-"

Joe held up a backpack. "All set, buddy." Sylvia spoke up too. "I also packed some special tent capsules. You know how those work? (Nick shrugged.) Ever seen DBZ? (Nick nodded.) The capsules will create a tent 5 seconds after pressing the release button. Then you'll be set for the night. And the road to the desert's to the west of the city, so just follow the main route out." "Thanks, Sylvia, Joe." "When 3 days have passed, and when you think you've mastered your skills enough, call 6 Machine. If you're really a well-trained hero, you should be able to call him easily. Use your own little call phrase though…don't copy ours." "Okay. That's some kind of heroic rule or something?" "Yes. It's in 6 Machine's programming." "All right…wish me luck!" He walked off, waving, and the others waved back, saying their good-byes.

By sunset, he was already on the desert road, the city miles behind. He couldn't see it's twinkling brilliance anymore, and that slightly depressed him. So far from civilization…

From Joe and the others…

From TV…

From electronics…

From decent food…

From ANYTHING, really.

Well, mostly everything. Cacti, tumbleweed and big rock formations were everywhere. He decided he'd better set up camp. He put his backpack down, shuffling through it's littlest pocket to find…small white capsules. Just like from DBZ.

Movieland ROCKED.

He pressed one of the capsule's tops, and then tossed it into an area that had no rocks or tumbleweed rolling around in it. In a poof of smoke and in a flash of light, a fairly good-sized sleeping tent had been propped up. Nick grinned broadly, this was so cool. He unzipped the entrance, and then zipped it back up as he went inside. A big sleeping bag was inside, a nice shade of green. It looked comfy and inviting, and Nick immediately unzipped it, and was soon lying inside it. After zipping it up, he fluffed the pillow the tent had a bit, the put it under his head, and relaxed.

Soon sleep found him, and he drifted off. The sky twinkled with many stars, and the moon shone brightly on the desert.

Not that far away lay snowy mountains of tremendous size. One of these mountains had a large cave entrance, and a little "Home sweet Home" sign was nailed up to the left of the entrance. However, the sign was written in Israeli, and a small translation lay beneath the sign. Inside the cave, a gigantic statue was snoozing like Nick was, and in his dreams he remembered what Alastor had said:

"Remember, the kid's getting better. He needs to be taken care of. You can do it, Flinty. He'll probably end up near the mountains you live around in a few days…so keep your eyes out. Don't ask me how I know, I just do…I've got secret sources."

Flinty had nodded. "Yah, I will do away with pesky teenager."

"Good. If you don't, the leader will kill you, Flinty. The leader's not happy about Charles, Big John or Hulk. If you go down, he'll blow a fuse!"

"I shall not fail."

Would he? Nonsense. A boy, that's all Nick was. A boy playing around with toys he barely understood, just some kid who liked playing with the same thing over and over. He didn't stand a chance against someone with the great strength of Flinty!

But what about Hulk? He and Hulk had been equal in physical strength, hadn't they?

Bah. He was worrying too much. He forgot about Alastor's words and went back to dreaming about blizzards and hot cocoa.

The next day, Nick woke up, with the sun already brightly shining. It was time for breakfast! He walked outside, taking the backpack with him. He opened it up, and rummaged around. Finally he found a pack of chocolate chip muffins, with juice containers and a few apples. This would be his breakfasts for the time he was out in the desert. He ate and drank one of each, and then put the food and backpack back in the tent.

He stretched, giving out loud yawns as he did so.

"Time for some training, then. I guess I'll start with SLOW. But first…" he took his pose. "TIME TO **ROCK!** **HENSHIN**!"

The transformation swept over him, and he grinned. His cape fluttered lightly in the breeze, and he looked up into the cloudless sky.

"Let's see…what to practice SLOW on?" Nick looked around. There were quite a few rocks and tumbleweed around. That big chunk of boulder would do. He walked up to it, and then used the SLOW technique. All of the world slowed down, the breeze became non-existent, and a flying bird suddenly went from going 20 MPH to less than 1. Nick suddenly stopped, then halted the SLOW a second later.

"Wait! If I'm gonna train…I need heroic music to do it too!" He looked at his v-watch. There was a little display on it, and a few buttons. He noticed that one button said "SELECT" and two others said "UP" and "DOWN". He pressed select on the watch's "Music" option, and scrolled down a bit. There!

He pressed "SELECT" again, and music started up. He smiled, and looked down at the rock.

**BGM: Joe the Hero**

Activating SLOW again, he arched his foot back, and then kicked the rock. A small shockwave seemed to emenate from the rock as it was hit, and then it burst into little pieces, which went flying through the air at a…well…slow…rate. He himself wasn't slowed down as much as everything else, but it still affected him a small bit. Then he flicked one of the pieces in midair, and it went soaring across the desert, falling down next to a big boulder. Ah ha!

Nick ended SLOW and positioned himself. The boulder was HUGE…but he could jump it…with MACH SPEED. He ran towards it, activating the ability. Everything speeded up! He was going…he didn't know… 60 mph, probably! He leapt over the boulder with a mighty jump, soaring into the air. He did about a dozen quick flips, several fancy turns, and a few poses, and then landed swiftly and expertly on the desert ground. He grinned and the MACH SPEED ended a second later.

Now…he should test out ZOOM. He hadn't tried ZOOM before. He walked over to the boulder and looked it up and down. Hmm…okay then. ZOOM!

Suddenly he felt as if all eyes were on him…he began to see the boulder…no, all things within 3 feet of him seemed so sharp and clear. He could see something…his visor now focused on a point on the lower left region of the boulder, a point that was marked by a flashing dot. STRIKE THERE might as well have been written on the boulder. His fist slammed into the marked point on the boulder, and…

BAM! The rock split apart into a dozen or so pieces. It was now rubble. Nick jumped up and down. He was mastering the techniques!

He continued to practice, (Stopping for lunch at noon) till the sky began to turn red and dark purple. The sun was setting beautifully behind him. He cleaned out the old tent (Which was now covered with dust and was sagging slightly) and kicked it over. In a moment it reverted to a black capsule, used up. He set up a new tent, and this one was identical to the first. After eating dinner, he went to sleep, and had a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

(Stop the music)

The next day, after scarfing down breakfast, he got back to practicing. Stopping again for lunch at noon, (Ham and American cheese sandwich, with cranberry-grape juice and an apple) he practiced diligently all day. He'd take rests every two hours, because his body became exhausted after using so many VFX powers for so long.

Sunset would be coming in an hour, so he decided to do a little exploring of his surroundings. With MACH SPEED, it was easy. He ran down the road, looking all around him. Nothing interesting, really. Even the big rock formations were dull…

Then he noticed something down the road…a GIGANTIC mountain range, with lots of snow-capped peaks and big caves. One cave caught his attention…it had something next to it, a sign. He ran right up to it, and came to a screeching halt…

He hadn't noticed that it had gotten colder as he'd gotten closer to the mountains. It was snowing lightly, but a chilly wind was blowing. Yikes, it was cold! He looked at the sign, which was in…Israeli? It had a translation below: "Home sweet home". Cute. He decided a look inside wouldn't hurt.

Wrong. Again.

Nick wandered into the cave, looking at the large stalagmites and stalactites. The cave was pretty warm, and there were ancient drawings on the wall. Mayan, perhaps? Or maybe the drawings were Incan.

"Ancient Olmec drawings? Indian? Aborigine writings? No, it's gotta be Aztec. These are Aztec drawings, I'm sure!" "You are right in thinking so."

A deep, heavily accented Jewish voice had spoken from his left. He looked…and then jumped back.

It was a large, freakish statue. He recognized it from the games…Flinty Stone, the Ancient God Statue! He was the Ancient Guardian general of GEDOW…and now worked for JAGOW.

He was large, and painted bronze. Flinty had big red eyes made of rubies, with large hands that were always palms open. His feet were bulky, and he had a strange headdress on top of his cranium. He had a white beard that trailed down from his chin, and sharp looking ivory teeth. His big head was kind of long, and almost reptilian. He had what looked like tusks in the front of his mouth, and was wearing a strange…well…skirt. It was made of green and red gems, and Flinty had various necklaces made of precious stones laced around his neck.

Nick was cold and not too happy, but he took a fighting stance. "I didn't mean to come in here, but if you wanna fight, then let's rock!"

"I am not interested in fighting, okay kid? I am, how you say, cool with you being here, yah?" (A little accent goes a long way. Imagine Flinty speaking with a very heavy Jewish accent whenever he talks.)

"Whaaa?" "Really, I am. I'm a good host, and since the weather, she is cold, I will allow you to stay the night. I've got a few spare beds." "Why?" "Just in case Alastor or Rachel calls, for example. They are very close friends." "Oh? I don't suppose you'd tell me where my family is?" Flinty shook his head. "No, but I will offer you bed and dinner. There is food in cupboard, bread and cheese. I also have some coke." "You need to eat?" "I drink the coke, but I need no food. That stuff is just for my pets." "You have pets who eat-oh. Mice?" "Yes, in glass case over there."

Flinty pointed with his large right hand, and Nick turned to look. Sure enough, a few white mice were running around in a glass case, amongst little playthings and such. One was squeaking, and the other two were…OH!

"Look's like Stuart Little's getting lucky tonight!" Nick started laughing, and Flinty gasped. He ran over, making large clomping noises as he did so. He gently pushed them aside. "NO. NO! No humping, Flinty Junior. No doing so to Anna. And Kris, stop sneaking your sister's food!" "Nice names."

Flinty nodded, and pointed at the cupboard. "Go ahead. Do not worry, food not poisoned. I am good host, you see." "Okay…I'll trust you."

"I am supposed to be guarding Six Machine…but it just vanished into thin air…do not know why. Do not really care, since you're here…but anyway…eat! Eat! Good stuff, yeah?"

The food WASN'T poisoned, and actually tasted very good. The bread was French, the cheese was cheddar, and there were even a few cookies in the fridge. Nick gave some crumbs to the mice, and Flinty beamed a little.

After dinner, Nick said "Well…goodnight…" and walked over to a plain blue and white bed that was just BARELY long enough to fit him. He plopped down in it, and turned over a little. He waited…and waited…

No blow, no battle-cry, no attack came. He waited for about an hour, then sleep got the better of him. He dozed off, into a dreamless sleep.

Flinty simply smiled a bit, and then went to sleep, standing up of course. That was how a statue like him slept. He snored very loudly.

The next day, Nick woke up, and looked instantly over at where Flinty had been last night…he wasn't there. Hmm…

Suddenly a shadow fell over him and the bed he was on. He whipped around, gasping…

Flinty was holding up a tray with bread and scrambled eggs. He'd even put a cup of guava juice on the tray. "Breakfast?" "I…I don't know what to say…thanks, I guess."

Nick hopped out of bed, and took the tray. He sat down at a table in the cave, and began scarfing it down. Flinty simply drank guava juice, making large slurps.

Suddenly Nick felt pressure rising up in his chest…had he eaten too much?

Nope. He simply let out a large BRAAAPP and turned a little red from shame. "Sorry."

Flinty couldn't really show emotion, but Nick had a feeling that the gigantic statue was grinning, because FLINTY burped next, and it was even louder! Feeling challenged, Nick summoned up all the gas he had left in his stomach, and…

**BBUUUUOOORRRRAAAAPPPP!**

The burp almost shook the cave, it was so loud and long. Flinty stared right at Nick, then laughed loudly and heartily. "Ah, good! Good! Feel free in releasing your winds! Is good feeling, yeah?"

"Yes…I guess it is." "Anyhow…you are done with breakfast? Then we should probably get to the fighting, while it is not that cold outside." "You wanna take it outside? So that the cave won't get messed up?" "Yes. Last time I had a fight in here, everything got wrecked." "How about the mice?" "Those are not the orignial Flinty Juniors, Annas and Krises." "Ouch! Who the heck did you fight?" "I fought with Charles the Third…he was a psycho! You see, he ate my mice, that vershnickina…"

"Woah! Hold on! No need to swear. Hey…how come you're not all tired like you usually are?" "My mind, when it cannot focus on something, it gets tired, as does body. If I can't concentrate on something, I feel sleepy." "And one can't concentrate on answering two questions at the same time, right?" "Too much strain on my brain. But I am focused now, yeah? So let's go outside and fight then."

The two walked outside, and stood in the snow that had been left from last night's blizzard. Nick was freezing his ass off, so he decided to immediately transform.

"TIME TO **ROCK! HENSHIN**!" Transformed once more into his heroic clothing, his whole body became a lot warmer! Flinty nodded, and took a battle pose. "Let us go, yeah?"

"What about your theme song?" "Oh! Holding on!" Flinty waddled over to the cave, and pressed a button hidden in a crevice. A wooden stereo popped out of the ground, and Flinty pressed a button on it. The theme music of Flinty started up.

**BGM: Ancient Guardian (Ancient God Statue Flinty Stone's Theme)**

Flinty made the first move, stomping over at Nick, and throwing a punch right at him. Nick simply yawned, and activated SLOW. He sidestepped Flinty, and then aimed a punch right at the gigantic statue. CRUNCH.

"YOOOOOWWW!" both statue and teenager screamed. Nick jumped up and down, shaking his hand wildly and going "Ow-ow-ow-ow!" while Flinty grabbed his side and went "OOOOH! THAT **HUUURTS**!"

This could be harder than he thought. Nick jumped up, and delivered a SLOW kick to Flinty's face.

Five seconds later, Nick was yelling "CRAP-CRAP-CRAP! THAT **HURTS**, MAN!" Flinty was rubbing his sore jaw, moaning softly. Nick stood up after some serious rubbing of his sore foot, and looked at Flinty. So SLOW didn't work. Maybe…

"MACH SPEED!" Nick shouted, and ran right behind the gigantic statue, slamming his fists into the ancient guardian's back over and over and over again, letting out karate cries.

Soon NICK was crying on the ground, holding his hand. "Oww..oh oowwwww…."

Flinty himself was sore too, he couldn't reach his back. He simply rolled on the ground and in the snow, groaning terribly.

"Ohh…my back…my poor back…"

"Let's try ZOOM!" Nick leapt towards Flinty, who stared up, surprised. Nick thrust both his feet down, and slammed mightily onto the helpless Flinty, both feet hitting hard, making a loud THUD, followed by small cracking noises. ZOOM powers rocked!

Flinty however, knocked Nick across the snow with a backswipe of his gigantic hand. Nick went flying through the air, landing hard on the ground. He looked up just in time to get kicked by Flinty's large left foot, and he went flying through the air AGAIN. Then the god statue jumped up when Nick got close enough to the ground, and with a double-hand strike, Nick was knocked to the ground with great force, uttering out a "GOOG!" sound as he hit hard, icy snow.

He looked up. "Z…ZOOM!" He jumped up, spinning around and around in an Emerald tornado, striking Flinty right underneath the statue's chin. Flinty's head snapped back, uttering a sickening crack…but Flinty wasn't human, so he didn't die. Nick however, had an idea. He was gonna try something he'd done often in the video games. He landed back on the ground and when Flinty tried to backhand him he ducked, and after jumping up a bit Nick delivered a set of might punches and strikes to Flinty's face…the technique known as the Red Hot One Hundred, or RHOH!

Flinty reeled back hard from the incredible power of Nick's RHOH…but the Red Hot One Hundred had done more damage than Flinty thought it had. Nick didn't know it, but he had one more talent lying dormant inside him…a talent that was about to be used.

Flinty suddenly roared, and transformed! His body split up into chunks, which formed together to create a long-bodied dragonlike creature. The skirt suddenly attached to Flinty's head, and became a sort of strange frill, which whirled around the head like a buzzsaw. The dragon-Flinty sped towards Nick, and Nick cringed. He began running for his life, but the dragon-Flinty kept getting closer and closer…

"I need to hit him only a few more times…but where do I hit him? And HOW? Come on, think…think, Nick! Or you're screwed, and so is your family and all of Movieland!"

He kept running and running, and thinking all the while…what to do…what to do.

Maybe he could…no way! He didn't have THAT power. Did he?

No time like the present to find out. He whirled around, and leapt up at the dragon-flinty's head, yelling out "REPLAY!" all of a suddenly he could see a little red dot in the upper-right hand corner of his visor. YES! He kicked the head of the statue with all his might, and…

SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! It sounded like someone took a picture three times when the kick connected. Flinty suddenly stopped in midair…and Nick could hear cracking…then he looked at the face of Flinty…it was cracking. ALL of Flinty was.

The pieces slowly put themselves together back into statue form, but they were becoming filled with more and more cracks. Flinty looked down at Nick, and scratched his head. "How…how did you do that? I thought only that girl, Sylvia could do it…" "I didn't know I could do it either, Flinty." "You're tough…I like that, you know. I do."

(The theme song ended.)

"What's the plan? What does JAGOW want with my family and with Matt? Tell me!" "They are sacrifices, so that leader…can…become physical. He can leave the land of the spirits and become solid again. He can rule over both worlds with enough power gained from sacrifices…your family will be the most important, the one that will…allow him to terrorize Movieland, looking for more prey to feast upon." "What? He's gonna EAT them? To become physical again? As in he's a spirit, and not really REAL?" "Yes…I feel tired now…that is plan…I must rest…" "Wait! Flinty! I didn't…I'm sorry I repaid your hospitality with…with this." "It's all right. I understand, we are enemies, are we not? But…aaaaahhh…"

Flinty yawned deeply. "Now is sleepy time. Your family…if you want to find them…must cross ocean first…to other continent. Wild continent…"

Flinty's ruby eyes suddenly lost their light, and he let out a long yawn before he finally fell to pieces. Nick picked up the eye of Flinty and held it in his hands. The wind silently blew over the mountains, and many pieces blew across the snow. Nick simply held the ruby in his hand, and then sighed. "I think I should keep this." He put it in his pocket, and made his way back to the desert using Mach Speed, the heavy weight of the ruby reminding him of Flinty's hospitality the whole way through.

Upon returning to the desert, Nick looked at his V-watch. He'd been away for almost three days…he had to last one more night. Then he could return in the morning. But that's not what bothered him. What about Flinty's pets? Who would take care of them?

He'd bring them back! Blue and the others could take care of them, right? But he'd need 6 Machine's help. He couldn't rely on Mach Speed forever, and besides, the mice might get blown away in his hand if he tried carrying them at super speed. Nick had, a few times before, during training, tried to call for 6 Machine, but every time he thought up a catch phrase, it just…got away from him. He felt as if something had been keeping him from calling up the heroic jet, a mental block of some kind, perhaps.

But now, he didn't feel restricted at all, and Nick was SURE that a call would work.

Hmm. Blue said that he needed a special call phrase. What could he use? It had to be unique, something that, when said, broadcasted to the whole world that "This phrase is MINE and mine alone". But what could he use?

How about, let's go-no. Used. Come on…no. He thought and thought, looking for a good call phrase…

Then something clicked in the back of his head. He remembered, he had the Viewtiful Joe Soundtrack…and nobody used this call.

He whistled, and uttered the call: **"LET'S RIDE, SIX MACHINE!" **

Nothing happened…at least, not for the first five seconds. But then, a little cage in Flinty's cave suddenly got BLASTED apart, and a red blur streamed out of the cave with a great wooshing sound.

A second later, Nick suddenly heard a large ROARING sound, and he saw 6 Machine speed towards him, soaring through the sky. The red jet was small and compact, and seated one person only. It was trimmed with white armor, but it's mostly red armor shone brilliantly. It's wings were graceful and strong, and it's gigantic jet engine was impressive indeed. A blue visor to protect the driver from bugs and dust and stuff was there, above the controls, and slanted slightly. Nice touch!

Nick jumped right in, and looked down at the controls. Cool…

"Hello! I am Six Machine. Thank you for calling me, new hero. I am happy to help you." "Great! I'm Nick Grey, your new driver! Uh…could you tell me what does what?" "Of course, but please drive me with care." Nick saluted. "Will do!"

**BGM: Let's ride, Six Machine! (Six Machine's Theme) **

Nick was walked through, step by step, on how to drive the Six Machine. He learned what all the buttons did, what all the levers did, what the switches were for, what to do if a missile was coming, and he learned how Six Machine could be used in tune with his VFX powers. Cool!

Nick spent the rest of the day flying through the air, weaving around buttes, ducking underneath large arches and soaring through the clouds, dissipating them with a single fly-through. All the while, Six Machine's theme song played, a nice little number that was quite peaceful and enjoyable.

Eventually he headed back to Flinty's Cave, and picked up the cage where the mice where kept. He and Six Machine flew back to the campsite, and in ten minutes driver and jet were heading into the city, with Nick whooping and hollering like a cowboy.

"YEEEHAAAA!"

Blue, Sylvia and Joe were currently a rooftop where they were watching stars. Blue was staring through a large and very clear telescope, and now looked in the direction of the call. There he was, the new hero. He'd learned how to master Six Machine. Blue grinned, and motioned for the other two to take a peek. When they did, Sylvia squealed in delight, and Joe grinned. "Kid's got skills, guys! What did I tell you?"

Nick landed Six Machine on the roof, and thanked the jet. "You can go now, Six Machine." "Thank you." The jet took off, and Nick looked at Blue…holding out Flinty's mice.

(Stop the music!)

"Congratulations…you're taking care of Flinty's mice now. Oh, and I found out I have your REPLAY power, Sylvia. Cool huh?" He then placed the mice's cage down on the ground, and walked over to the telescope, looking up at the moon. "Wow…preeetty!"

Joe and Blue stared with mouths wide open at the mice. "What the?" "Best not to ask." Sylvia picked the cage up, and smiled. "Aww…how cute-Oh!" "Ha ha ha! Hey Blue, stuff like this I usually see on the Discovery Channel, but nothing compares to seeing it in real life!" "Is his name "Randy", Nick?" "No, That's Kris. The mouse he's giving the time to is named Anna, and the one who ain't getting any is Flinty Junior." "I think they wanna make a Kris Junior." "You better stop him…we don't want THREE horny male mice to take care of."

They all laughed, and Sylvia pushed Kris off of Anna, scolding him.

Deep below the sea, a dark form was absentmindedly picking his nose with great gusto…bored beyond belief.

The red gloves the form wore made squeaking noises as he "dug for gold".

"Hey, "treasure hunter!" a video screen turned on behind him. "Drain your place of water for a while! We need to talk." "Oh…Alastor. G'day, mate. You know I can't uh…really do that from here…just…just put on the air mask I left in the airlock for just such a…a…a time."

"Fine." A few moments later, Alastor swam up to the form, an oxygen mask on. His voice was SLIGHTLY altered, but the tone of mixed irritation and suppressed anger was there nonetheless. "Listen Brucie, Flinty got…crushed. He fell apart, literally. Now the kid is headed across the continent, and he figured out the plan!"

Alastor was secretly furious. Nobody had told HIM the plan. They'd left all of the specifics out, saying only that the leader needed a sacrifice. Nobody had told him why, or how, or where. He'd only found out the whole plan when he'd spied on the kid during the fight. "Why didn't you tell ME the plan, Gran Bruce? Why didn't ANYONE?" "You did fight against evil once, Alastor and…uh…we weren't sure if…well…ah…we could…trust you, yeah, that's it."

"You sound kinda…dumb. Did you take your intelligence enhancement pills?" "I won't touch that…uh…those thingies, they smell bad, and besides, I'm fine the way I…ooh!" Gran Bruce had been picking his nose the whole time, and now pulled out a large boogie…which he flicked across the water in the "throne". Alastor let out a disgusted groan. "Just make sure the kid doesn't cross the continent." "Sure, Alastor. Back to the picking! Hmm, hmm…"

Alastor swam out, muttering curses, and Gran Bruce continued to pick his nose with great force.

Elsewhere, in a laboratory…

"Let me go…"

"I think not my dear…my little creation needs to be tested. You are a perfect subject."

A girl struggled vainly on an operating table, tied up, and cruel eyes attached to a squiddy face glared coldly at her. He threw a switch, and a barred gate swung open on the other side. The girl waited…but nothing came out. Then her metallic bonds suddenly let her loose! She ran towards the exit, eager to escape.

Then something slimy wrapped around her neck…but she couldn't see it, only feel it. She tried to pull it off, but to no avail. Then it slowly revealed itself, at first a unidentifiable pink mass…but then it cleared out, to become a long, pinkish tongue. She looked behind her…

A chameleon with a large mouth had wrapped its tongue around her, and it's yellow eyes made her gasp. She lost her footing, and the tongue dragged her, kicking and screaming towards the open maw of the beast. It's jaws opened wider…wider…she let out a final scream, and then the tongue pulled her all the way into it's mouth. The jaws closed around her head, and then she was gulped down in a few moments by the large chameleon. The chameleon grinned, patting his belly, which now had a slight bulge to it. Suddenly the chameleon burped, and the girl's shoe flew out of his mouth.

"Tasty, master." "I thought so…you will do the same to our little traitor, won't you my pet?" "Of course, Dr. Cranken." "My wonderful creation…with the upgrades I gave you, your freaky personality is subdued, your size and intelligence increased…in short, you are far more powerful than you once were! You will consume both traitor…and teenager! Glory to JAGOW!"

"Glory to JAGOW!" the chameleon bowed, and then slowly faded away…vanishing. The doctor continued to laugh and laugh in the empty, dark laboratory.

**Brief Author's Note:**

**Don't forget to review after you've checked out my fanfic! I appreciate the feedback, honest.**


	8. G'bye, mate!

**G'day, mates! The name's Bruce. Gran Bruce. But uh…just call me Bruce, okay? What was I doin' again? Oh, right! Uh…**

**That…um…the kid, whuzzhisname…Nick! Right, Nick! Heh heh…huh? Or right, Nick! He's uh…gonna be in my territory soon and…well, er…I was kinda…uh…what was I told?  
**

**Right, I remember! To rip him "limb from freaking limb" I think. The leader's kinda…what's the word…um…angry! Yeah! **

**So uh…the kid's shark bait, just he wait! Hey, that uh…rhymes! I've got other rhymes too, I made them uh…up for my girlfriend, Rosy! Listen to this one: Roses are red, poor Charley is dead, Hulk and Flinty have bought it, Doc's sick in the head! The sergeant is fuel, and I'm feeling cruel, and I'm gonna go kill that kid dead! The end. Whaddya think, mate? Not too bad huh? What? "It sucks out loud"? Why you little no-good, cockney, sodding wanker! I'll bite ya blooming head off, ya bloody- (The rest of his words were unsuitable for print.) **

* * *

"Attention world! I'm…bored. God, I'm so mind-bogglingly bored."

Indeed.

Nick had taken Flinty's advice, and had decided to head across the great ocean that led to a strange, wild part of Movieland…the New Continent. Nobody had really been over there, and few knew what lay in it…but they knew one thing: It wasn't good, whatever was there.

Nick had decided to take 6 Machine over the ocean, and had been flying for about half and hour, enjoying the flight immensely. The jet had had been playing a kicking soundtrack, and the last song he had heard was "Help!" by The Beatles.

_Help! I need somebody! Help! Not just anybody! Help! You know I need someone…HEEELLLP!_

_Back when I was younger, so much younger than today…I never needed anybody's help in any way! But now those days are gone, I'm no so self assured…I know that I just need you like I never did before!_

_Help me if you can, I'm feeling doooown! And I do appreciate you being rooound! Help me get my feet back on the grooound! Won't you please, please help me?_

_And now my life has changed in oh, so many ways…my independence seems to vanish in the haze! But every now and then I feel so insecure…I know that I just need you like I've never done before! _

_Help me if you can, I'm feeling doooown! And I do appreciate you being rooound! Help me get my feet back on the grooound! Won't you please, please help me?_

_Back when I was younger, so much younger than today…I never needed anybody's help in any way…but now these days are gone, I'm no so self assured…and now I find I've changed my mind… I'll open up the doors!_

_Help me if you can, I'm feeling doooown! And I do appreciate you being rooound! Help me get my feet back on the grooound! Won't you please, please help me?_

_Help me! Help meee…ooooh…_

Nick happily sang along, completely unaware of the world around him, caring only about the tunes.

It was a peaceful flight, to be sure…before a missile shot the jet down.

The missile hadn't been followed up…in fact, NOTHING had happened within the last FOUR HOURS. Nick had been drifting in the ocean for that long, and after the first hour of panicking and calling for help (Which had been in vain, the communications had been fried) he'd drifted off into a comatose-like state of boredom.

Drool now hung from his mouth, and his hair had become VERY frazzled. It wasn't hot out, but it WAS humid, and it really annoyed him. He felt so unhappy, and miserable, and alone and angry and annoyed! Why, he was almost on the verge of making a facial expression! (Much like some actors who don't do their job quite well, but I'm not pointing fingers.)

"Ugghhhh…"

Or not.

Inside his head, he wasn't that much better than he was outside. He'd made up a rhyme to pass the time: "I'm…so bored, I'm...so bored, and so tired of being ignored. It's been a bad day, nothing's going my waaaaaaaaaa-aaaay…God help me, I'm so _freaking_ bored!" But he kept repeating it in his head, and was slowly drifting into unconsciousness.

Then something happened…6 Machine suddenly "pinged" and Nick quickly came back to life, looking down at the controls and the display. "What the?" It was the radar…something was coming from…below the ship?

Oh…my…God…

"HOLY CRAP!" Nick had seen the film "Jaws" and he'd fought against Gran Bruce in the Viewtiful Joe game. He knew what was probably gonna come next. Gran would jump out of the water, jaws a-snapping…and no more Nick. **DUCK AND COVER**!

Sure enough, a face popped out of the water, grinning cheekily…but that was about it. Nick cautiously peeked over the side of 6 Machine to get a better look. What stared back was the face of a large great white shark, who had on scuba gear, complete with red gloves and even diver's fins. He was picking his nose with great enthusiasm. He had beady black "doll" eyes, and his mouth was ENORMOUS. Filled with large, sharp teeth and a large, fat red tongue. He also had on a black belt, which had a few strange buttons on them. His diver's tank was orange. A dorky-looking orange.

Nick wanted to laugh, but suppressed it.

"G'day mate!"

Okay, now he couldn't.

Tank, nose picking, and funny Australian accent combined, making the moment comedy gold for Nick. He started laughing fit to burst.

"Hee-haaa! Ha ha ha ha! HAA! HA HA HA…"

He began laughing so hard that his chest hurt, and Gran Bruce just kept picking his nose. The Australian accent was incredibly thick.

"What's so funny, kid?"

"_YOU_! HA HA HAAAA!"

Gran just blinked. Nick calmed down a few minutes later, and the laughs dissolved into giggles, then into wheezes. "Okay…hahh…hoo…you're...hoo-hah...Gran Bruce, right?" "Right, mate, I…uh…yeah, I am." "You want to kill me, right?" "Yeah, so would you um…er…uh…hmm. I _knew_ this…" "Would I mind getting out of my jet so that you can eat me alive?" "Something like that, mate." "Uh, no." "Blimey!"

The shark stopped picking his nose.

"Well then, mate…I-uh…I…er…um, I…I guess I'd better uh…chew your jet up or something…yeah! That works."

The shark launched itself at 6 Machine, jaws open, snapping wildly. Nick ducked back inside as Gran Bruce's jaws sank into 6 Machine…

And then Gran Bruce let go, howling. His teeth had been severely banged up, and some were now falling out.

"Oh, I forgot! 6 Machine's armor can handle missile hits, machine gun fire and large crashes, so I'm sure it can handle a shark's bite. Wanna try another tactic, "mate"?"

Gran Bruce fought back involuntary tears and spat out a tooth. "You're DEAD mate, you got that? You bloody cockney prick!" Suddenly, theme music began to play…

**BGM: Aquatic Terror (Mysterious White Shark Gran Bruce's Theme)  
**

"Say what?" Nick just sat there, stunned. The shark redoubled his efforts to attack, but this time just RAMMED the drifting jet, and Nick was banged around like a kid being rammed repeatedly on a bumber car. Ouch!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The jet was fine…Nick was not. He was jigging around in the jet something awful, yelling "CUT-IT-OUT-CUT-IT-OUT!" and Gran Bruce kept swearing and cursing in Australian.

Nick looked like he was going to give first, and he was beginning to lose his hold on consciousness. How was he gonna survive THIS?

Suddenly Gran stopped. Nick took a small peek over…and saw that the shark was wheezing like heck.

HOO…HOO…HEEEE…HEEEE…

And then he started up again.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"YEAAAAARRRGHH!"

"YOU BLOODY, NO GOOD-COCKNEY, SON OF A BITCHING-"

"QUIIIIIIITTTTT IIIIITTTT!"

BANG, BANG, BANG!

Then he had a brainstorm. He remembered what had worked against "Jaws" in the movie, and quickly began rummaging through 6 Machine's trunk, located near the end of the jet. Gran Bruce had stopped to catch his breath, he was wheezing like an old man on life support.

Teddy bear…no. Cheeseburger? No. How about-nah. AH HA! A gas tank! All reason went out the window, and Nick promptly leaned over to Gran Bruce and tapped him on the nose. "WHAT?" the shark was pissed, and his mouth was open wide…Nick shoved the small gas tank right in. Gran let out a muffled grunt of surprise, and his doll eyes widened in fear when he saw what Nick had planned. Nick aimed a flare gun he had right at Gran Bruce and said "Come on, you son of a-"

BLAM! KA-FLOOOOM!

A terrific explosion sent both jet, boy and shark flying dozens of yards through the air, and each landed hard against the water. Nick barely managed to make it to the top of an overturned 6 Machine, and flopped down. He slowly drifted into sleep…

(Stop the music!)

Alastor floated down from the sky, and looked at the kid. He was knocked out cold…but where was Gran Bruce?

He looked to the left…and saw that Gran Bruce had been blown apart, practically in half…but he was still, just barely alive.

He was…trying to pick his nose…

Alastor looked away as the great white shark let out a final gasp and a death rattle. He shook his head. Sheesh, the kid could be **violent**!

But would the kid survive being adrift at sea? Probably not…so what to do?

Then he noticed the kid wasn't asleep yet…he was still awake, but just barely. More importantly, he was looking at Alastor.

"Hey…Alastor, could you…uh…help me turn this over?"

Alastor just hovered in the air, stunned. But he nodded. He and Nick pushed 6 Machine upright in the water, and Nick climbed back in. The chair was wet, but at least it was soft. Nick smiled and shook Alastor's hand saying: "Thaaaaanks…" before he drifted into sleep. Alastor frowned a bit. "What's the deal with this crazy teenager? He's at all what I thought he'd be…perhaps I should talk with the prisoners about him."

Far away, bright yellow eyes that bulged stared over the sea…a red dot on the horizon caught his eye. 6 Machine. The being that possessed those eyes grinned a little. At last…

He'd followed a run-away robot here, and no found BOTH of his prey…the teenage rebel Nick…

And the traitorous Bloody Rachel.

(Wow! Shortest chapter yet.)


	9. Hero vs Cameo

**Hee hee…oh. I apologize. Allow me to introduce myself, please! I'm Cameo Leon, a top general of JAGOW and Dr. Cranken's greatest work! He engineered me twice now. Before I was quite the wild card. I was unpredictable, had a crazy sense of humor, and more importantly, laughed too much. I don't think the laugh was such a big deal, but you know how parents get.**

**Dr. Cranken is the closest thing I have to a Dad, and I follow him. Not only because he's my father , but because he's alsoa superior officer. **

**He ordered me to hunt down a traitor to our organization…Bloody Rachel. Bloody Rachel was THOUGHT to have been on our side, but she was found fraternizing with the hostages, AND she escaped, trying to get important information to our newest mortal enemy: Nicholas Michael Grey!**

**The doctor sent me out to destroy her…and Nick, if I find him. And it looks like I found both! It's my lucky day! Hmm…the kid's out cold…doesn't seem fair to kill him now, but I got my ord-oh wait! Rachel's there! I guess I have no choice now, I suppose that I must act right away! **

**Kind of a shame though…that Rachel is…a knock out…hee hee…what a hottie! Hee hee hee! Oh no! The doctor said my upgrades altered my mind and body, that any problems I had should be gone! I'm Cameo Leon, Version 2.0! What's wrong with me? Wait…the doctor said that the old traits might come back if I let myself become distracted...it's going to be a mental AND physical battle then. A battle to keep my mind, and to destroy those two! **

**Here I go then! **

* * *

"Ohh…my poor body. Take me to the curb, ladies and gents, because I am TRASHED." Nick shook his head dizzily. His jet had eventually made it a large beach on the wild continent. 

After Nick had gotten Alastor to help him out, he'd drifted off to sleep for a while, but the rocking had woken him up. So he'd slowly paddled towards shore, where the tide and his small efforts had worked side by side to get him onto a long, sandy beach, littered with sea shells and various plant life.

But he wasn't looking at THAT now. He saw something glint like, well…gold, out of the corner of his eye. He looked up, and saw her.

She had hair that went almost down to her shoulder, and large, totally white eyes with no pupils. She had dainty feet and hands, and a belt for clothing. Actually, that was it. She was totally naked…except she wasn't just naked, she was also a robot made totally of golden machinery. Luckily for Nick's virgin eyes, the designer had NOT made her anatomically correct. You can rest easy, concerned parents, this is a PG-13 flick at the MOST, and it's got no sex. The closest Nick ever got to it anyway was a quickly-aborted second base.

His first words that came out of his mouth were "I don't want to go beyond first base. Until we're married, that stuff will always seem like a violation of your body to me." The woman stopped and stared. "What?" she said, in a lovely, quite sexy voice. Her tone had a slight mechanical ring to it though.

"No sex on the first, second, or third dates, none at all even, till we marry. And I won't touch your breasts, thank you very much. It would feel wrong. It felt wrong with Molly, it'll feel wrong now."

"I…" "By the way…you're a little bit…shorter…in real life than I thought you'd be, Mrs. Lavigne." "I'm sorry, what?"

Nick was clearly dazed and delirious. "Or are you Mrs. Jolie? Or Mrs. Spears? I can't tell in this sunlight…" Yep! Being at sea for half a day, in the hot sun, had made him slightly fracked up. And now seeing this golden girl had made him really lose it.

"No…wait…you're Mrs. Hilton! Want me to sing? I love Paris in the springtime…I love Paris in the fall…I love Paris in the winter (When it drizzles)…I love Paris in the summer (When it sizzles). I love Paris every moment…"

The golden woman looked right into his eyes. "I'm not those women you speak of. My name is Ms. Bloody Rachel." Nick mumbled. "Hmm…you're quite out of it…I know!" She turned around. "No peeking!"

He didn't. She opened up a hatch in her breast, and a root beer can popped out. She closed the hatch, and handed him the root beer. "Chilled. You like it that way?" "Oh yeah. Thanks a ton." He gulped it down eagerly, and the caffeine boosted his brain, giving it a restart of sorts.

He suddenly seemed to be aware of his surroundings, and then stood up. Nick stared right at her, and looked her up and down. "Uh…hi…"

"Hello. You are?" "I'm…uh…" Nick stepped out of the jet, and shook Rachel's offered hand. "Nicholas Michael Grey, but you can call me Nick. I'm the newest friend of Viewtiful Joe and his buddies, and I posses VFX powers. All of them, actually." "Really? Fascinating!" She studied his watch intensely. "Yeah, uh…can you put some clothes on or something?"

She looked right at him and he noticed her facial expression never changed. What could she be thinking?

He soon found out.

"We can't stay here…Cameo Leon is in this region." "What? Who-oh! Cameo Leon, yeah I know about him! Captain Blue told me about him, he was suppose to be really annoying in the video game." "He's a lot tougher now! The doctor upgraded him!" Nick tilted his head a bit. "Say whaaa?" "UPGRADED HIM."

"Ah. I see. But…could you still put on some clothes?" "He made Cameo Leon smarter, faster, stronger…and got rid of his laugh, too." "Wow. That doctor's a whiz at this stuff, huh?" "Yes. Unfortunately for us, he is." "Let's go, then. I'll get 6 Machine up…somehow…" He looked at the jet. It was waterlogged, fizzing a bit, and looked quite wrecked. "I don't suppose you know anything about fixing jets?"

"That's the least of our problems…" Rachel suddenly sound very afraid, and when Nick looked at what she had seen, he was too. There he was…grinning unmistakably…Cameo Leon.

Cameo Leon was a large chameleon, taller than a normal man. He had two arms and two legs, each of which had two clawed fingers…_large_ clawed fingers. His long, pink tongue hung out a bit from his mouth, slightly curled. He was clothed in stealth gear, complete with night-vision goggles and a black vest, which exposed his RIPPED chest. Yikes, the guy looked strong!

His bulging yellow Chameleon eyes looked right at them both, and the JAGOW general chuckled. His tail was curling back and forth in way that seemed...unsettling…to Nick. The gigantic chameleon was pretty happy. However, there was one thing about him that was different…his tone…although it was a little grating, it wasn't nearly as grating as the tone Blue had said Cameo Leon had had in the video game "Viewtiful Joe 2".

He also didn't have the laugh. Though Nick kinda thought the laugh had sounded like an okay shtick. (I THINK that's how you spell it.)

"Hello there…you're Nick, aren't you? Rachel, you've been a naughty girl…" "No, I'm not Nick. I'm just a guy conducting a survey." "What?" "Huh?" Both Rachel and Cameo Leon stared stupidly at a broadly-grinning Nick. "I just wanna ask you a question, Mr. Leon." "Uh…ask away, then." Cameo Leon scratched the side of his head in confusion.

"Is Joe here?" "Joe who?" Nick grinned REALLY big. "Joe MAMA!"

Rachel stood there standing, as Nick started guffawing. Then she started to "Ha-ha-ha" in a very mechanical way. Cameo Leon didn't do anything though…at least, not for a few moments. Then he started laughing his head off. His trademark laugh came back to him with a vengeance, and he laughed long and loud…though not nearly as much as Nick. NOBODY would ever top Nick's laugh.

"HA-HA-HA!" "HEE HEE HEE HEEE!" "WHAA HA HA! HOO HOO! Hoo…"

Eventually the laughing stopped. Nick wiped happy tears from his eyes, Rachel wheezed, her hands on her breasts, and Cameo Leon was stooped over, catching his breath. He had to put his hands on his knees to keep from falling over.

"Hee hee…hee…that was really funny. I-I liked it a lot. You're funny." "Yeah, I can be."

From behind a bush, Alastor scratched his helmet. "What kind of a superhero is he? He acts more like a wisecracking _sidekick_ than a superhero!"

Cameo Leon eventually calmed down. "I still…have to fight you…and kill you both…doctor's orders, hee hee-No! No more…stop it! No more jokes! Got to calm DOWN."

"Gee…what's wrong with laughing?" "Showing emotion weakens you. Laughter, joy, happiness…these are things an elite stealth agent should never show." "I see." Rachel suddenly spoke up. "But the heart people have…the thing that holds their emotions…it's the strongest thing in the world." Cameo Leon laughed…but it was a cruel laugh. "No…I'M the strongest in the world…or at least I'm the strongest on this beach! Prepare to die, my prey."

He took a fighting stance, and then, for effect, licked his eyeball with his long tongue. Rachel groaned in disgust, and Nick stuck out his tongue. "Ewww…but kinda cool. I can't even get my tongue to touch my nose!" Then Nick had another smart idea. "Hey, here's a good one! Two cannibals were eating a picnic, and one says "Boy, I hate my mother-in-law." And the other says "Yeah, me too...try the potato salad." Get it?"

Cameo Leon started laughing all over again, and while he was all curled up and giggling madly, Nick grabbed Rachel's arm and quickly issued the command "RUN!" to her.

They did, taking off in a moment into the jungle beyond the beach, leaving the laughing chameleon behind. Nick huffed and puffed, finding that Rachel was quite heavy…but then she began to run on her own account, and now Nick was trying to keep up with HER. "So where…huff…do we go…huff…from here?"

"I suggest we try to cut through to the village outskirts, where there are people that can aid u-"

Nick shook his head. "No chance in heck, Rachel…hoo! I want to fight him somewhere…huff…were nobody innocent can…huff…get hurt." "A private battle ground?" "Yes!" "Hmm…than I suggest we, well, head for the hills!" "The hills?" "Yes, the ones that lead to the wilder, deeper jungle region. You would do well to avoid that area, by the way, and the places beyond it." "Which way to the hills before the wild jungle then?" "To the west, this way!" Rachel executed a perfect 90-degree turn, and Nick followed right after.

They kept running and running for what seemed to be ages, but they finally made it to an opening in the jungle, which led out to large, roaming hills, covered in lush green grass and beautiful flowers. Some of the flowers were a lovely sky blue, and some where a strange…black?"

"How odd…" "Dr. Cranken has been experimenting with the flora and fauna of this continent. Many creations of his exist in the jungle…creations that have bred with other natural horrors." "What natural horrors? I don't know diddly about this place, Rachel. Mind filling me in now?" Nick furrowed his brow in irritation. What was so scary and evil about the damn jungle?

Rachel held out her left hand, and a little display antenna popped out from it…a holographic projector! It displayed a large map of the area, of everything within a 25-mile radius. The beach was to the south, with the little jungle to the north of that, but to the east there were villages and ports, and to the west there was a VERY large jungle, which just kept going, clear off the map. To the far north, a grey area was present. "Nobody knows what's present in that area to the north, Nick. That's why it's grey."

"How long does the jungle stretch?" "36 miles to the west, and you can see that it stretches quite a bit to the north too, though you can't really see it from THIS map. Here, he's a whole view of the jungle." The map changed, and now Nick saw just how big the jungle really was. "It's 36 miles across, 30 miles up and down." "66 miles of jungle? Yikes, that's pretty big." "And filled to the brim with dangerous animals!"

"Do I count as one of those dangerous animals?" Nick and Rachel whirled around, and saw a hissing Cameo Leon, who had finally caught up to them. "Nice joke, kid…but now you're finished!"

Nick thrust out his right hand and held the v-watch up for Cameo Leon to see. "Okay then…I suppose we'll fight right here and right now! The décor's pretty nice here though…a pity."

Nick twirled around, saying "TIME TO **ROCK!**" and punched the air with his right hand once again making the "rock on" symbol, yelling out "**HENSHIN**!" as he jumped. The miraculous transformation took place once again, and Nick whirled himself around once more, striking a wonderful battle pose.

"Let's cut out the funny stuff, Cameo Leon, and get down to business. Rachel…stay back." Rachel took a step back, but then shook her head, and stood up tall. "I can take care of myself, thank you." She said, in a stiffer-than-usual tone.

Nick made a fist in front of her, and then stuck out both pink and thumb, making the appropriate gesture of coolness. "Sweet. Let's go, then! Tag team!"

"Do you not need four fighters for Tag Team?" "No problem, traitor. Observe! Computer!" Cameo Leon spoke into a com-link attached to his slightly bulky night-vision goggles, which apparently doubled as a portable computer. "Activate "Double Cameo" program, immediately!"

The goggles "pinged", and suddenly Cameo Leon stretched out WIDE. Then, in a flash of purple-black light, he…SPLIT into two Cameo Leons!

"What the?" "Now then…let's go!…right after I start up my theme song." He pressed a button on the side of his goggle-computer, and music began to play.

**BGM: Cyber Phantom (Cyber Phantom Cameo Leon's Theme)**

Both JAGOW generals jumped at the both of the viewtiful heroes, and the fight began!

Rachel was able to dodge the second Cameo Leon's attacks for quite a while, ducking and dodging to the side every time the creepy chameleon clone took a swing at her. However, he soon got the better of her, and one good kick knocked her onto the ground. She barely rolled out of the way to avoid a nasty stomp from his feet, and she retaliated by using her morphing powers to turn her hand into a hammer.

KA-THWONG! The clone went flying through the air.

Meanwhile, Nick danced around, using MACH SPEED to avoid the original Cameo Leon's attacks. He was enjoying himself a little too much, in fact.

"Can't touch this! Hmm-hmm-hmm. Ooh, ooh…can't touch this! Hmm-hmm-hmm. Ooh, ooh…can't touch this! Hmm-hmm-hmm…my, my, my-can't touch this!"

He kept leaping around, and twirling out of the chameleon's reach, singing "Can't touch this" all the while. "Hold still you, fu-" Cameo Leon didn't have enough time to swear, because Rachel suddenly kicked his butt hard with a morphed foot…

Which had been changed into a large, spiked boot. Ouch! Cameo Leon went prancing around the hills, grabbing his butt going "My ass! My ASS!" while Nick roared his head off. Cameo Leon suddenly got nasty, whipping his tongue out at Nick and striking him across the face. Nick screamed, and fell to the ground with a THWACK.

"That stung like hell!" was all Nick said. He got up quickly, rubbing his sore face. Rachel was having some problems too, the clone had come back with a vengeance! It was whipping it's tongue at her over and over, and she had to keep jumping around to avoid it. "Dance, girl, dance! I want to see you dance before you DIE!" Suddenly it twirled around, striking her with it's whirling tounge. She took it to the face, and it hit her with incredible force, so much in fact, that she went flying a good fifteen feet or so across the hills before she landed in a flower patch.

Nick used SLOW to dodge a tongue whack from Cameo Leon, and this time grabbed the tongue. "You're gonna get it now, jerk-face!" Nick spat out. He ran over to the clone using MACH SPEED, and wrapped the tongue completely around the clone. Then he stretched the clone farther and farther away from the whimpering Cameo Leon, who's tongue hurt like a real bastard now.

Cameo Leon managed to fight through the pain though, and was about to struggle, or run at Nick, or SOMETHING, but Rachel suddenly grabbed his arms, holding them behind his head. "NOW, NICK!" she yelled out. Nick nodded, and the stretching ended. He let go…

And it was the rubber band effect. You stretch something far back, and let it go, it comes back HARD. And come back hard it did! The tongue-wrapped clone came hurtling toward Cameo Leon at a sharp speed, and Rachel barely ducked out of the way in time, but duck she did, and Cameo Leon got the full front of the blow. The clone SLAMMED into him, and that knocked him right down onto the ground.

The clone and he were now entangled in tongue. The clone twitched…and then vanished! It had been recalled back into the computer. Cameo Leon staggered up, and looked angrily at Nick. "You think you're clever, huh? Well let's see if you're still as clever once I do THIS!"

Rachel was caught by surprise as Cameo Leon whipped his long tongue around her legs and then whipped it right back at him. He dropped her right into his arms, and she was pressed hard against him. He held his large claws up to her face and looked right at Nick, smiling cruelly. "Surrender…and I won't have to hurt her pretty little face." "That's dishonorable! Attacking a la-okay, she's not exactly a real gentlewoman, but still, using hostages is cheap!" "So is fighting me two-on-one." "I wasn't going to REALLY do it…okay, I was." "Hah! We're not THAT different…we'd both do ANYTHING to achieve our goals!" "Not true! I wouldn't…I wouldn't…I wouldn't take hostages, I know that! And I wouldn't steal-oh wait…I did. That bomb. Well I wouldn't ki-oh…gee…"

(The theme song ends.)

Nick was beginning to really think back on his adventures. He HAD done a lot of stuff to make sure he'd be coming out on top. He'd lied, he'd stolen, he'd killed…he'd used trickery and manipulation to get here, and he'd mocked his enemies. What other sins would he end up committing in the name of saving the world and his family?

"I stole the bomb, manipulated you, wrecked a clock tower, putting lives at risk…I killed a lot of JAGOW members…I beat up my host…oh GOD! I'm gonna go to Judecca for sure!" Cameo Leon blinked. "What?" Rachel filled him in. "Home to those who betrayed their hosts…in the last circle of hell."

"Oh God…I've done so much evil in the name of good…maybe I'm no better than you guys are…"

Cameo Leon was strangely, oddly silent. He didn't say a word…then he suddenly sighed, and shooed Nick away.

"Just go home, kid. Go home and forget about everything you saw here."

Nick nodded glumly, and slowly began to walk off. Rachel stared after him in shock. "Nick? What are you doing? Don't just give up on Movieland, and on your family! You're a hero!" "But…I killed…I was taught you shouldn't kill…and that you shouldn't manipulate people, or lie to them…that you shouldn't steal either."

Rachel tried to think of something rational to say to him, but she simply drew a blank in her CPU. Cameo Leon chuckled. "Now to take care of you…"

Suddenly Rachel remembered how she had seen the light of good…by using the heart, and not her head. Joe had taught her that the heart was a viewtiful thing…so she reached out with that to Nick.

"Nick…I know that you shouldn't kill or steal, or manipulate or lie…but you're fighting a WAR, Nick. It's a war against evil, a war against JAGOW. You're trying to save billions of lives, and sometimes casualties occur. I know that people do a lot of bad things in war, and that war isn't an excuse to kill someone, but you're not killing or stealing because you WANT to. You're doing it not because it makes you feel good, or because you want to see others suffer…you're doing it so that others can live…at least your heart is in the right place, and I'm sure…"

She would have gulped if she had been human. "I'm sure that God would understand."

Nick stopped, thinking about this…

Cameo Leon merely scoffed at this. "It's too late, Rachel. All the pretty words and meaningful advice in the world will not save you." He opened his jaws wide, and wrapped his tongue around her, using every inch of it to squeeze her tight. "Time to die now." He said simply. He began to pull her headfirst into his mouth, and Rachel looked up, into the large maw of Cameo Leon, knowing he would not spare her life. She was finished for sure, about to be swallowed alive by this monster.

Cameo Leon chuckled. He'd won…he was about to consume her, and nobody could stop him.

He didn't see the emerald blur that zoomed toward him at incredible speed…didn't notice the form right underneath him before it was too late, didn't see the arched back fist…

Suddenly a Red-Hot One Hundred punch to the gut stopped Cameo Leon in his tracks, causing him to lose his grip on Rachel, and making him crumble to the ground.

Rachel stood up, wiping tongue drool off her body. Nick held out a hand. "You okay?" "Yes, I…I think so." "Good. Rachel…thank you. What you said…it means a lot to me. Thanks." "You are welcome."

"I hope God does understand…I don't want to kill or hurt anyone while trying to save my family, but I end up doing so anyway…because there doesn't seem to be any choice. Evil won't rest until I'm dead…and I have to defend myself, don't I? I'm not gonna let myself be killed when there's a chance I can save my family." Nick looked up at the sky, holding out a fist towards it. "If someone tries to hurt my family, or if they try to kill me, I'm gonna fight back. Newton's third law, man!"

"A hero's got to do what a hero's got to do." "Yeah, exactly! If there's no other way, then…well…heads will roll! Avoid it when you can, but if you can't…then kick ass! That's what I just gotta keep in mind. Thanks Rachel…now…where should we go?"

"You should…head for the village first…"

"What the?"

Cameo Leon had stood up, and was now brushing dust and dirt and grass off of him. He looked right at Nick. "The village will contain supplies and things that you can use to repair your ship. I'll help you out."

"Wait a tick…you're JAGOW, remember? Bad guy! Tried to EAT Rachel! Why should I trust you?" "What you said about being a hero…what it means…why you fight…it got me thinking too. You say you do bad things in the name of being a hero because you don't see any other way to get it done, that you can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs…you're right. But I don't want to be an egg…and I don't want to be a part of JAGOW anymore. Dr. Cranken did a lot of things for me…but it's more like what he did TO me…and I don't like that."

He growled a little. "The doctor altered me…without my consent. I'm a free-thinking individual, and he turned me into a…a sick, evil experiment! I'm just something to test things on in his mind…and I don't like it one damn bit! So come on, let me help you…please." The JAGOW general looked imploringly at Nick. Nick looked him over…

And nodded. He shook Cameo Leon's hand.

"Cameo Leon…welcome to the resistance. Good to have you on the team." Rachel gasped, and Cameo Leon broke into a wide grin. "Th-th…thanks, Nick! You won't regret it!"

Nick nodded. "Come on then…to 6 Machine! We got a lot of work to do!"

Far away, a robotic form in red silently sat upon a laboratory chair. Dr. Cranken sighed. "I had a feeling that my experiment would fail again…good thing you have twice his power…and that you will be the one to destroy all three of them. The two traitors…and that stupid little meddler! Activate now!"

Gleaming yellow eyes beamed out from the robot's grey visor, it's face covered with a sleek white mask that extended all the way across it's face, reaching all the way to the side of it's red helmet. Between it's grey visor and it's white mask, you couldn't see ANY of it's face…

Good thing too…because it didn't have a nice one, either. It flexed it's fingers experimentally, carefully, and then, in a sick, cold-as-ice tone, said…

"They're dead, doctor. Just wait. It won't take me very long to kill them." He might as well have been discussing a TV-show with the tone he used. The doctor simply laughed long and loud…feeling on top of the world.

But where was Alastor, I hear you cry? Well Alastor had been thinking about Nick. He wanted to know more about the hero that JAGOW was facing. How would he discover the kid's weaknesses? He didn't seem to display anything really worth noticing on the field of battle…

Then he got a brainwave. They had the kid's family hostage.

Perfect.

Just….

Perfect.


	10. Another One Bites The Dust!

**You probably thought that I wasn't gonna show up. Well guess what, kiddies…I'm here. My name is Another Joe, Version 2.0. I'm super strong, and unbeatable. No, I'm not bragging, I'm just being truthful. Nobody has beaten me yet.**

**I have all of Joe's powers…and none of his goofy attitude. So I'm definitely a match for that kid, Nick. More than a match even…I'm the superior one. They all die TONIGHT. Hero and Traitors. **

**I've got a plan, you see. I'll weaken them all by scattering them into the wild jungle, where the doctor's creations have bred with other animals, creating deadly, vicious beasts. I've been inside…and what they do to their prey can be disgusting. **

**What's in there? Oh the usual. Gigantic insects, 100 foot long snakes and lizards…the occasional dinosaur, with large flocks of man-eating avians…and naturally one can't forget about what's present in the jungle's lakes and rivers…heh heh heh…**

**Of course, the were-animals are gaining power too. Too much so…they keep attacking the lab. Any JAGOW soldier or guard that's been outside the lab has been taken into the jungle and eaten alive. I've heard some awful screams. Of course, It's kind of fun to watch them kick and scream as they're dragged away, hands outstretched, begging for my help…**

**But that's the way things work. The strong survive. The weak perish…and perish Nick and company will. In fact, the doctor himself is in trouble too if he can't find a better location to conduct his experiments…the were-animals are beginning to look for breaches in his security, and they might get INSIDE soon. Not my problem though…I'm stronger, faster and smarter than them. Than ANYONE. Even the doctor.**

**I would gladly crush his heart if I could, he drives me nutty with that ugly face of his…but it's in my programming not to. Oh well…**

**The kid and the traitors will have to suffice. Maybe I'll save Rachel for myself…heh heh heh.**

"_You might think I'm crazy…to hang around with you! Or maybe you think I'm lucky…and that's something to do! But I think that you'll your wild…inside is some child! You might think I'm foolish…but baby, it's untrue! You might think I'm crazy…all I want is you!" _

Nick was just happily singing a song by "The Cars" as he walked towards the village. Right behind him, slogging away…was Cameo Leon and Rachel. Nick had used Mach Speed to get ahead, and he had gone about two miles ahead of them before he'd realized they were left behind. So he waited…and when they caught up, they were bushed. Rachel needed to recharge, and Cameo Leon was just plain tired.

"Come on guys, let's sing!" "Uh…no."

Cameo Leon groaned. "Ugh…of all the heroes that Movieland has…why did I get stuck with the eccentric do-gooder?"

Rachel moaned as well, adding her two cents to the mix. "Why did I go along with this human? He's…what's the word Joe used? Oh right…loopy."

Nick just shrugged, smiling a little. "You guys need to loosen up. Chillax, dude and dudette."

Cameo Leon took another step forward…and then collapsed. "I…I need to take a break. Just five minutes, honestly…"

Rachel simply fell face first, all worn out. "Shutting doooowwwnnn…" Then her pure white eyes suddenly turned black. She'd shut down. Nick rubbed his chin, and looked around.

"I suppose this is as good a spot as any to set up camp. Good thing I still have a capsule left…" He tossed a left-over housing capsule onto the ground, and in a "POOF" it became a big trailer. "Come on in, guys! Plenty of room!"

Cameo Leon shrugged, and followed Nick inside, carrying Rachel. Soon they were all sprawled across beds, just relaxing…or in Rachel's case, recharging.

"Maaaan…I'm bushed! Mach speed is really exhausting!"

"Can't…take…another…step…"

Beeping noises came from Rachel's bed. She hadn't moved one inch, and was now plugged into the trailer wall, recharging.

"Beep…beep…beep…"

Boom…

Cameo Leon suddenly sat up, eyes bugging out more than usual. "I felt something…something shook the trailer!" "Huh?"

BOOM.

Nick felt THAT! He sat up on his bed, looking around wildy. "The hell was that?"

BOOM!

Cameo Leon rushed to the windows, and took a good look out. A second later, another "BOOM!" resulted, sounding a lot closer than before. The chameleon's eyes opened wide, and he ran over to Nick, stammering.

"There-there-there's…some-something o-out th-the-there! It looked…it-it-it looked like a-a dinosaur!"

"Are you serious?" Nick asked, afraid. He'd seen ALL of the Jurassic Park movies. Cameo Leon nodded very quickly. "A T-Rex, I'm sure!"

"Well then…let's get the hell outta here!"

Suddenly…

**BOOM!  
**

Our two heroes slowly turned to face the window. There, just outside…was King Kong. A GIGANTIC ape was peering in through the window. He had shaggy, dark black fur with a bluish tinge. His fists were bigger than the trailer itself, and his eye was at LEAST five times bigger than your fist. He grunted a little. His nose was the largest part of him…except for maybe his you-know-what.

"HOLY-!" "WOW!"

Nick ran outside and waved. "Hey, double K!" King Kong grunted. Nick looked down and saw that King Kong's legs were thicker than a Redwood tree…and that reproductive organ was VERY, VERY big. Nick wondered who Kong's dad had been.

"How's it going?" Cameo Leon and a newly-awakened Rachel warily stepped outside and regard Kong.

"Uh…how come you're not nervous?" "Everyone knows that Kong's not really a bad guy! Besides, he knows a nice guy when he sees one." Kong then executed a "Rock on" symbol with his right hand. Nick repeated the gesture. "Plus, he's been hanging with Joe and the gang." "I can tell." Rachel was looking at Kong with the utmost fascination. "Amazing…simply amazing!" She said, walking towards Kong and gently rubbing her palm against the Herculean apes hairy arms. Kong smiled a little.

"So Kong, what's up?" Kong grunted in various octaves. "Uh…I don't understand Ape." Kong sighed, and held out a finger. He pointed to the ground and then drew the following words: "I'm alright."

"Cool! So you're doing okay? Well, we're looking for Doc. Cranken's lab! Seen it?"

Kong scratched his chin, then his butt, and wrote some more.

"Sure. That big, ugly building? The one with all the satellites and wiring and stuff? It's THAT way. But you don't want to go there…"

"Why not?"

"EVERYTHING in this jungle could kill you. Currently I'm hunting down a gigantic snake that's been eating the locals." "Yeesh!"

"So maybe I should come with you." "We would well and truly appreciate it, double K." "Word up."

So Kong lifted up the trailer and took it in his hand. Then, with his other hand, he wrote "I'll bring this to the village. Meet you there." Then he took off with thundering steps that shook the Earth. Nick punched the air. "Woo-woo! That was so freaking cool!"

Cameo Leon and Rachel looked at each other. If she could have, Rachel would have rolled here eyeballs.

"Out of all the superheroes in the world…"

"…we get the crazy one."

"EXACTLY! Finally, someone who understands the problem!"

"Guys, are you gonna stand there, or are you gonna come with me to the village?"

Rachel and Cameo Leon looked to their left. Nick had already taken off, and was waving at them from a dirt path.

"Let's go!" They quickly ran after him, and all three of them took off towards the village, eager to get somewhere safe.

Not very far away, a form sat on a large wooden chair, ornately decorated and masterly crafted. He was flicking bugs off of the armrest of the chair, and sighing.

"Still no news on any prey for tonight's banquet. What on Earth is my tribe to eat if we can't find any prey that can be caught? Those natives are tricky, and they stick together. The doctor's creations are either too large to hunt or too close to his home…what are we to do?"

Suddenly another form knocked on the door of the first form's hut. "Chief! Chief! I bring important news!"

"Come in, then."

The messenger stepped inside and bowed. "Oh great Chief, we have found new prey, three beings who travel together. One a large chameleon, another a woman of gold, and a youth with white skin and unusual clothes. They are currently travelling in the direction of the native's village."

The chief let out a "Ahh…" of relief and happiness. "Two words, Nuntius Panthera…CATCH THEM."

"Of course, Chief Magnus."

The messenger saluted with his left hand, and then took off out of the hut, heading towards another hut, one longer than the first. He knocked on the door. "Open up, Salamandra! It's Panthera. We've got prey to hunt. They're heading for the village, but if we catch them-"

"Say no more." The door opened, and a grinning being stepped out, accompanied by another. "Feles Magnus will accompany us. You remember Feles?" "I prefer "Felix" actually." "Yes, I remember Feles-Felix, I mean. Come…we have to hurry."

The three of them nodded, and then took off running through the forest.

MUCH farther away, Alastor was talking to Nick's family and Matt. Matt was playing cards with Alastor as the devil interrogated him.

"So tell me…what's Nick like? He seems to be quite powerful…and a little violent."

"Oh, Nick can be violent, but he can be really nice too. You should see him when he's helping people out. He really gets into it, you know? Like when I needed help with a Chemistry problem set, he just stopped doing his social studies homework and walked right over to me, and then he sat down. I didn't even have to ask him to help, he could just tell. And he didn't get back to his work until I'd gotten the problems!"

"I see…"

"But Nick can be one of the most selfish people I've met." Said David. Alastor looked up, surprised.

"Really? He seems so…unselfish right now." "Generally he doesn't mean to be unselfish, it just happens. He'll be doing one thing for someone, then get distracted by something he wants to do…or sometimes he'll just put off work to hang out and play." Barbara had added her two cents as well. Alastor blinked.

"However, when he gets in the right mood, he can do practically anything…but he even when he's doing what he's supposed to be doing, he kind of…has this ATTITUDE about him. Kind of like a rebellious, "I'm my own man" attitude. He likes to view everyone as equal, and if he had the chance, he'd call all of his teachers by his first names. He's just that kind of kid." "Disrespectful?"

"Well, by society's standards. But he says "Respect for someone is not as important as liking him or her as a friend and as a good human being." He said that everyone should be treated equally, age be damned."

"Hmm…"

"Plus, he likes to sing. Sometimes just for the heck of it, you know. He likes getting lost in the moment."

"Uh…gee…"

"But he's also a big idealist. He has this idea on how people should behave, and he tries to point out to people what's wrong with the world, and how it can be changed…but some of his ideas are a little…naïve."

"Um…"

"He thinks people are basically good at heart…ALL people. Naïve much? AND he has these ideas about how people should run their lives. He says that being honest is more important than being respectful, that being passionate in what you do is more important than being smart. Can you believe him?"

"Well…"

"He's got these ideals, and he thinks that being a superhero would be the coolest job in the world! He can be so childish. Yet, all he wants is to make things right in the world. Seems like a lot though…"

"But he can put things right in the world now, can't he?"

"Yeah, since he's a superhero."

"I…"

"Yes?"

"I…I think I get him a little bit better. But tell me…why does he sing songs whenever he feels like? Why does he have this melodramatic flair about him? Why is he so wrapped up in fantasy?"

"Well he's got Asperger's Syndrome, but he's gotten over most of the problems that come with that, so I don't think that's the problem."

"He probably does it just because that's what he feels like doing…and because he thinks that stuff will make him a better person."

"He likes watching cartoons a lot, he thinks it'll enable him to keep his innocence. I really don't get him…and I'm his brother!"

"I think I understand him less than I did before now that we had this talk. How is it possible for someone to be some contradictory? Immature yet wise? Kind yet selfish? Innocent yet naughty? Annoying but likable? How can anyone be such a big jumble of contradictions? Who IS this kid?"

"That's just Nick." They all said. Alastor groaned and whapped his forehead with his hand.

"Ugh…"

Back at the jungle, Nick stood on top of a hill that overlooked a big patch of jungle…and a village by the beach! "There it is! We're about…half a mile away, so let's go!"

Cameo Leon nodded, but Rachel hesitated. Something wasn't right…

Her sensors hadn't fully come back online, but now they were…and she was faintly detecting something…three forms…coming fast at them.

"Hold on…"

"What is it NOW?" Nick asked, impatient. Rachel held a hand up, asking for quiet. "My sensors are picking up heat signatures, coming at us FAST…"

Cameo Leon suddenly whipped to the right, and he pointed his clawed hand at the jungle. "I see something, they look like…"

Suddenly three animalistic beings burst out of the jungle. They looked like men when it came to things like the basic form, chest, legs and arms…but their heads, feet and hands were different. And in the leader's case, his arms had jagged spikes going up and down them. The leader had the face of a red lizard, a salamander, Nick realized. His red tongue darted out a little bit from his mouth, and he blinked his large eyes right at Nick. The two other beings were a panther/man being and a jungle cat/man. With corresponding heads, tails, and really furry skin. Nick knew instantly what they were. Three were-beings!

Oddly enough, Salamandra was wearing a blue jacket that looked army-issue, and Felix had on tight-fitting black pants. And Panthera had on a headband…weird…

"A were-salamander, a were-panther, and a were-jungle cat?" "Clever creature. You're a human, all right. But you dress differently than we do…than the natives do. Where are you from?"

"I kinda landed in Movieland because I went in to rescue my family and friend. I ended up on the other continent, then came here, and met Bloody Rachel and Cameo Leon here." "It doesn't matter what your names are…"

The were-salamander flexed his claws, and the cats beared their fangs.

"We are taking you to our village to be our banquet for tonight!" "Who the heck do you think you are?"

"I am Salamandra Eques. This is Nuntius Panthera, and that is Feles Magnus, or "Felix."

Nick chuckled. "Latin names…interesting. Well I'M Nicholas Michael Grey, better known as Nick. And I'M a superhero!"

"A what?" "You know, like Viewtiful Joe!"

The were-beings suddenly stiffened. "You…you know Joe?" "Yeah, Joe and the others gave me this v-watch!" Nick flashed the v-watch, and smiled. "Like it?"

Salamandra gasped. "You…you must be gods!"

**(SFX: Record scratch)**

"Sorry, didn't quite catch that…"

"They are with the gods Joe, Blue and Sylvia!"

"Oooh…"

Nick looked at his friends, mouth forming the words: "Uh oh…"

But Rachel was quick-thinking, and she said "THAT'S RIGHT. BOW BEFORE US."

The were-beings promptly sat on their knees and bowed deeply. "What the hell are you doing, Rachel?" Nick whispered.

"These beings think we're gods…we can use that to our advantage!"

"But…but…"

Then Cameo Leon joined in. "That's right! I am a God! I can turn invisible, behold!"

And he did his vanishing act. Panthera gasped. "Where did he go?" Suddenly something tapped him on the shoulder, and he whirled around. At first there was nothing, but then, a moment later…Cameo Leon re-appeared.

"Yikes!" Panthera leapt at least two feet into the air when the former JAGOW appeared.

The other were-beings "Oohed" and "Aahed". Nick just slowly shook his head. This felt so wrong.

"Well if you are gods like Joe and the others, we should treat you as such! You can come to our banquet tonight! We were going to have you as the meal, but you deserve to be the guests of honor, don't you think Felix?" "Indeed."

"What were you planning to make?" "Well uh…"

Felix spoke up. "We hadn't actually caught anything yet to eat…"

Nick sighed. "Then we'll help you. Got a preference for anything that's not a human being?"

Salamandra rubbed his large chin. "Well…"

Twenty minutes later…

They'd arrived at a very, VERY big lake. It was in the middle of a large jungle clearing, and it seemed to stretch on for at least a mile. It's sparkling color and nice, warm water made the place seem very much like a good vacation spot.

"Don't be fooled by this place's appearance…it's deadly." "How exactly is it deadly?"

"Watch."

Salamandra picked up a rock, fingered it in his claws, and then flung it across the lake. The rock got four large skips in before something GRABBED the thing and pulled it under the water…

Then the rock went skyrocketing out of the lake, headed for the forest. Whatever had pulled it in had also flung it out.

"The hell was that?" Cameo Leon said. Panthera gulped. "That…was the Kraken." "There's a bloody giant squid in here?" Nick said, suddenly feeling very nervous.

"No, a Kraken is worse than a squid…" "How so?" "Well for one, it's a lot bigger, and it's got 8 tentacles…and a large, circular mouth. But it's also a lot more cunning and dangerous than a squid."

"I can understand the cunning, but how is it more dangerous? Anything specific? Does it shoot fire, or does lasers come out of it's butt?" Nick was trying to make a joke, but Salamandra simply said "It's tentacles can stun you if they wrap around you even the tiniest bit…AND he seems to be able to go out of the water to some degree…"

"WHAT?" "He walks on his tentacles…" "He's eaten quite a few of us that way…so we hardly ever go fishing." "But you want us to kill it." "If you don't mind?" Salamandra said, smiling in a "Pretty please" fashion.

"Well…" Rachel said, trying to look for an excuse. Nick simply nodded. "You'll be eating octopus teriyaki tonight!" He slammed his fist into his hand and said "Let's set up a trap."

Not so far, far away…

He was stealthily walking through the jungle, searching for his targets. Nick and the others would die, that was certain. They stood no chance.

The gleaming white eyes behind that red visor looked out across the lake. Pretty…but not useful to him. Being pretty wasn't what mattered in life, what mattered was POWER. And Another Joe had an incredible amount of it.

He was about to turn around when he heard something. Two things actually. One was the shout of Nick, calling out "More to the west!"

So he's near the lake, thought Another Joe. But that wasn't the most important thing right now…right now he had to do a little…extermination.

The other thing he'd heard was the sound of hissing. A freakishly large, brown/green python with great big fangs was rearing above him, licking it's lips with it's long, red tongue. Another Joe just dusted himself off and whistled.

The snake hissed again, raising itself higher, fangs gleaming. Another Joe was tapping his foot and humming, not caring one bit.

The snake lost patience. The prey before him wasn't going to run, so what? It lunged, and it's maw completely engulfed the red being. The tongue wrapped around it, and it gave a gulp, swallowing it's prey. It went down his throat nice and easy. The snake hissed in pleasure and satisfaction, and turned around to go back into the jungle, to find more prey…

Then…pain. Something was hurting the snake…from the inside? It's stomach! Someone was-

That was all it had time to think. Its stomach was ripped open from the inside, and Another Joe stepped out. The snake gave a rattling cry, and tried to bite Another Joe in revenge…but the robot was quicker, and with one punch he broke the snake's head open. The corpse collapsed on the ground, and the robot scraped slime of stomach juice and digestive enzymes off of it's form. "Gross…biological life is disgusting." He turned towards the lake again, and took a good look, zooming in on a vague form far away with his binocular vision.

"Ah ha! There you all are…and you brought friends, too? How nice. But what ARE you doing? Making something…a trap? For what? Maybe I should wait this out and see what happens…"

Fifteen minutes later…

"Well…we did it!"

"Are you quite sure that this is going to work, Nick?"

"Sure it's gonna work, Rachel!"

The plan, Nick believed, was simple. When the Kraken reared it's ugly head to grab some bait, Nick would activate a primitive seesaw, that would go flying into the head of the beast, smashing it's brains out. It just needed a BIG push…or a SLOW one.

The trap did look like a big see saw. It was like one of those themepark rides that go back and forth, back and forth, higher and higher. All it needed was a push to get started…Nick would provide the push…but what would be the bait?

"Uh-UH! No freaking way! I am NOT going to do this!" "Come ON!" Cameo Leon refused to do it. Rachel flatly said "No", and the were-beings became very interested in the color of the grass when Nick popped the question to them. Nick sighed.

"Then…we'll have to find a goat or some-"

Suddenly they heard a rustling sound behind them. Nick whirled around, and saw gleaming white eyes shining out. A form stepped out, and there he was. Another Joe greeted Nick.

"Hello." Another Joe said simply, waving a bit. Nick's eyes widened a little bit, but then he got into battle position. "I know you! You're Another Joe-but wait…in the game, weren't you really Alastor in a Joe suit?"

"In "The game", yes I was. But I am something different now, something BETTER! I…am the one and only Another Joe Model Alpha! I am the beginning of a long line of incredible mechanical warriors…and I am the ender of your lives."

Another Joe looked EXACTLY like Joe did when Joe was in his viewtiful attire…but a grey metallic visor covered this robot's lower face, and a light blue visor covered the upper region. Two glaring, non-pupiled white eyes stared out from behind the visor. Nick flicked the robot off. "I'm not afraid of a mere machine!"

"You should be afraid!" Suddenly Another Joe took a battle stance, and twirled around, shouting "HENSHIN A BYE-BYE!" He suddenly began to spin faster and faster and faster…until he became a whirling red and white tornado, heading towards Nick! Nick took up his traditional viewtiful pose.

"TIME TO **ROCK! HENSHIN**!" Nick shouted, transforming again in a spectacular fashion.

Nick then activated SLOW and the whirling tornado slowed down, revealing Another Joe spinning not-quite-so-fast. Nick lunged forward, punching the robot in the shoulder, sending it reeling back. Another Joe staggered to it's feet, and then looked right at Nick. Nick was sure that the robot was grinning underneath that mask…

"If I'm going to massacre you…I should at least have my theme music on while I do it!" He touched a button on his fake v-watch.

**BGM: Another Joe (Another Joe's Theme)**

'We don't need FIVE male heroes with v-watches anyway. Whoever loses is…is going to…uh…"

"Is going to be Kraken food."

Nick gulped…but then just smiled and struck a pose. "Fine by me! Let's dance!"

The faker clapped his hands. "Such bravo…it will not save you, filthy organic. I'll destroy all of you with ease…starting with this meddling teen!"

Another Joe leapt at Nick, feet first. Nick cartwheeled back, but Another Joe ran up to him with incredible speed, and kicked him right across the chest, sending him flying across a patch of lake, clear to the bank! Nick staggered up, and groaned.

"Ooh…you're tough…but I can still stop you!"

Nick began running in place. "Hoo…hoo…let's see how fast you can really go…MACH SPEED!"

Nick sped across the lake with MACH SPEED, running right towards Another Joe, who also sped towards Nick. Nick arched his fist back, and Another Joe did so with his…but then Nick played a trick.

Just as they were about to collide, Nick used SLOW with MACH SPEED, and now only HE was moving fast. Another Joe didn't even have time to gasp when Nick's incredible double-power punch slammed into the side of his face. He went flying across the lake and into a tree as Nick zoomed back to the others.

The were-being jumped up and down, clearly enjoying themselves. "Amazing!" "Wow!" "Do it again!"

Nick just shrugged, and in the best John Wayne style voice he could muster, said "Jes doin' me job."

Another Joe let out a terrible scream, and Nick was shocked to see that the facsimile of Joe was tearing up trees with his bare hands…and…oh SHIT!

"RUUUUN!" Nick went running away with MACH SPEED as Another Joe hurled trees right at him and the others. The were-beings split up, and Cameo Leon grabbed Rachel, jumping to safety. Nick rushed back across the lake towards Another Joe, jumping up a little and aiming a side kick towards the robot…but Another Joe ducked, and Nick went flying into a tree, getting his foot stuck in it!

Another Joe leisurely walked over and proceeded to kick the crap out of Nick, striking Nick in the stomach, head and ass as Nick groaned or yelled in pain.

"How does it feel to be WEAK!" Another Joe asked angrily, obviously getting a kick out of it. "Go…to…hell…" Nick said, suddenly wrenching his foot free, kicking Another Joe on the side of his face with SLOW.

Another Joe reeled back and looked up, seething in anger…then he noticed Nick was glaring quite angrily at him…no, not glaring…it was as if he was peering into the robot's very core…

"ZOOM!" Nick shouted. Everything suddenly became clearer to Nick, the spotlight was all on him! The whole universe was about to see the power of Nicholas Michael Grey! He rushed up to a surprised Another Joe and delivered a super-fast Red Hot One Hundred punch volley to the robots face. Every blow on the faker's body made him quiver or shake, snapping the robot's head back several times. Then Nick arched his fist back, and with a mighty scream, slammed the final RHOH punch into the robot's face…and then activated REPLAY.

Once! Twice! Thrice! The robot went sailing over the lake, clear to the other side where the Kraken trap was. He landed with a nasty thud and a sickening CRACK, and made a groan before shutting down.

(Music is ended.)

Nick dusted off his hands. He used MACH SPEED to run over to the faker and pointed right in the robot's face.

"You've been terminated, motherfucker!" He wittily responded, and gave the body a kick for good measure. The were-beings, Rachel, and Cameo Leon all cheered, and Nick grinned, punching the air with his fist. "I WON!"

Fifteen more minutes later…

The robotic body of Another Joe was hanging from a tree branch that stretched over the lake, and Nick was banging a big gong.

"Come un get it!" He shouted in a western-style voice. Rachel put her hands on her hips. "Niiick!"

"Sorry, but he deserved it, the jerkwad…"

"It's bad enough you're using the body as bait, do you have to degrade him too?" "Okay, I'll stop-WOAH!"

Nick suddenly noticed that something big was rising towards the suspended body of Another Joe. He motioned for the others to look, and they watched as the Kraken arose from the water.

To say it was big wasn't enough. To say it was friggin huge wouldn't do justice either. It was just MONSTROUS in it's size, that was the only way to put it. It had a single big greenish eye, with a big black diamond-like pupil that focused in on the body. It's tentacles were long, and looked incredibly strong. Each sucker was bigger than a man's HEAD too! It's color was that of a deep blue, with black markings on it's large, octopus-like head. But the mouth…the mouth was present just below the head, in the middle of the tentacles. It was circular, with sharp teeth that were arraigned to close whenever prey was tossed in…reminding Nick of a garbage disposals opening. The maw of the Kraken was open and eager to feed, and it was emitting a sort of grumbling, roaring sound from it's mouth. One tentacle reached for the body, and pulled it off the tree with ease. Then it lowered it towards the mouth, which lay calming waiting, wide open. The eye of the Kraken was closed, not anticipating anything more than an easy meal…

Wrong.

"Now!" Rachel shouted. Nick gave a mighty SLOW shove to the see-saw trap, and it went flying towards the Kraken's head…whacking it, but not killing it! The Kraken flung the body into the jungle, and Nick suddenly realized the danger…

"That thing can walk OUT of water for some time, right?"

"Yes…"

"It's coming after us! We need to make the end SHARP!"

Cameo Leon raised his hand. "We'll use fire to burn it into a pointed end! Me and the were-beings can do it while you and Rachel distract the Kraken!"

Nick nodded. "Why not? What have we got to lose?…"

"Our LIVES?" Rachel said. Nick simply shrugged. "We'll win. The good guys always do in the movies…eventually."

The Kraken had sunk into the water, but now he broke the surface, roaring angrily, pulling himself towards the bank. Nick took a fighting pose, and Rachel, using her robotic strength, ripped a tree from it's roots and prepared to whack the Kraken. When it had fully pulled itself out, she swung it towards the beast like a baseball bat…

But it grabbed it, tossing it aside with relative ease.

"What the…" Rachel said. Suddenly a tentacle shot out to grab her, and she had to jump to the side…only to find four more reaching out to grab her!

But she was strong. She grabbed them all, and with a mighty heave she pulled the Kraken towards Nick, who used a SLOW uppercut combined with REPLAY to whack the Kraken into the water again. Nick cheered when he saw the beast go flying.

"We did it! We did-ARGH!"

A tentacle had wrapped around his leg! He was pulled along by the Kraken and when he hit the water, he gasped…wait! His face visor had activated, covering his mouth and preventing him from drowning! Perfect…he was going to get eaten instead of drowning. A FAR more better way to die. Number 3 on the "Top Ten Suckiest Ways to Die"...getting eaten alive!

The Kraken's eye glared right at Nick, who tried to wrench free…but to no avail. He was about to rip the tentacle off with SLOW when suddenly another tentacle whacked him on the head!

It didn't kill him, thank God…but it stunned him a little bit. A second later he found himself a few feet away from the open mouth of the Kraken. He screamed, but then the tentacle released him, giving him a final push into the open, waiting maw. He floated right into it, and the teeth closed off the exit behind him.

He suddenly found something was stuck to his suit…then he felt himself slowly falling down…onto some kind of strange, pulpy mass…then he realized what was happening. The mass was vaguely translucent, and he could see the remains of fishy (and other poor animals) bones inside…the thing was the Kraken's digestive track, and once Nick was inside, he'd been slowly broken down into…

AAAGGGHHH!

Nick struggled angrily, kicking out, lashing out at ANYTHING within hand or foot range. He struck SOMETHING, because suddenly the stomach gave a lurch, and Nick felt himself being sucked OUT…

Eww! He'd made the Kraken throw up! He was puked back into the water, and the Kraken gave some coughing fits before glaring at Nick again. It's tentacles arched up, then sped down, aiming to crush the annoying human…

But the annoying human was ready this time. He grabbed the tentacles, and using the power of ZOOM and SLOW, whirled around, flinging the Kraken out of the lake.

The Kraken went flying down…down…down towards bank, where it landed with a crash. It awoke a moment later, barely awake…and stared right at a sharped, heated up tree trunk on a swing.

"NOW!" The were-beings and Cameo Leon heaved at Rachel's order, and the sharped trunk end was swung right into the Kraken's face…piercing it straight through the eye and brain. It gave a shudder…and then died, slumping to the ground. Those on the bank danced a jig as Nick broke the surface of the lake, smiling.

"You did it? Awesome!" "Nick, get out of the water! You've got LEECHES on you!"

Nick looked at his chest, shoulder, and hands. Bulging, black forms were trying to break through his suit.

"OH SHIIIIIIIITTTT!" Nick screamed, and paddled as fast as he could to the bank, while Rachel and Cameo Leon chuckled. Nick brushed them all off quickly, and luckily none of them sucked his blood, but he still demanded that "You guys tell NOBODY about this." Scout's honor, the two chuckling allies said.

Nick and the others then headed for the were-clan's village, with a gigantic octopus in tow, being dragged to the village on a big, specially made wooden serving cart. Things were looking up!

Meanwhile, in the jungle…

Sensors are back online; all systems seem to be functional. The robot stood up, shaking dirt and mud off of his head. He looked around…no Nick, Rachel, Cameo Leon or were-freaks. The faker punched the earth angrily.

"Curse those meddling organics!" He said, clenching his fist hard. "I'll find them and exterminate them! Just they wait…"

Then a little "pinging" noise from his systems alerted him to the fact that he was only at 25 energy and strength-wise. His battle capacity had taken a real nosedive. "Bah!" said Another Joe. "I'll bide my time, and wait to strike…they're dead meat…just they wait…"

The robot was so bust with ranting that he never saw the form that slowly came out from behind him. The large spider, more than 80 feet tall looked down upon perfect prey…and it's pincers seized this prey in an instant.

It struggled, as they all did…but then the pincers dug deeper into its flesh, dulling the senses of it. It wouldn't fight back now. Another Joe didn't even have the strength to scream or twitch as the pincers brought his body closer to the open mouth of the spider. The maw opened wide, and he was flung right in. The spider gave a large gulp and then a satisfied "ah" of satisfaction. Inside its belly, the spiders prey was already being broken down and made into vital nutrients that the spider needed. Satisfied, it walked off, going back into the jungle to find more prey.

So perished Another Joe. Alastor shook his head.

"What a fitting end to such a bigoted little…oh well." The blade master shrugged, and took off.

Destination…the were-clan's village.

**Author's Note:  
**

**Don't forget...read and review:) **


	11. The Blade Master Rides Again!

**I hardly think I need an introduction, but what the heck.**

**My name is Alastor. I'm the Cyber Blade Master, and a powerful demon to boot. I was one of JADOW's generals, and I'm now in the top 5 of JAGOW's elite. There are 7 of us elite.**

**Fire Leo and Frost Tiger. The Black Shogun and King Blue. Me. Dr. Kranken…and finally, the last of the elite…the Jade Guardian, capable of taking on any person's form. **

**But enough about the elite of JAGOW. This is MY introduction after all. I'm here to check out Nick and his buddies, and to see how much of a hero he is when he's NOT fighting some enemy. Surely he's got to exhibit SOME off-the-field heroic traits…right?**

**He's eccentric, that's for sure, but to be honest, I…I kinda like him. He's funny, and he knows some good songs. In fact, he's singing one right now. I've been trailing behind him for about half an hour, and he's been singing Green Day songs for 20 minutes so far. He's currently on "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." **

Hmm…when he was stranded on the ocean after beating Gran Bruce, he looked right at me and asked for my help…like I was a friend. He acted like he knew me personally, like I wasn't something that scary…

**Should I be flattered…horrified…or worried? **

**I don't know…but I do know _this_…**

**That kid can REALLY carry a tune!  
**

"I walk this empty street, on the boulevard of broken dreams! Where the city sleeps, and I'm the only one and I walk a…my shadow's the only one who walks beside me! My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating! Sometimes I wish someone out there would find me…till then I walk aloooone!"

The were-beings looked at each other. Panthera shrugged, Salamandra scratched his head, and Felix simply smiled. He liked the song.

Rachel was being so kind as to provide the background music for the song while Nick sang, and Cameo Leon was sitting on top of the Kraken's body, nodding his head to the music.

"This is some good music, Nick! And to think…all the doctor ever listened to was classical…"

"You poor thing! You need to take a crash course in Rock 101! Oh, and Rachel? Thanks for using your body as a mp3 player so that we could relax a little." "Think nothing of it. But remember, this is only until your v-watch starts working again." "Yeah, it needs a little break…but alternative rock is awesome! You and I are mortal, but Rock and Roll will _never_ die!"

"Haroom!" King Kong was walking by them, also nodding his head to the music, occasionally grunting whenever a deep bass section was played.

"See? My man Kong RESPECTS the power of rock. Love the power. Trust the power…and use it to fight the power!"

"Uh…"

"I read it in a magazine once."

"Okaaay."

They were almost to the village, announced Salamandra. "We should be there in about ten minutes."

"So who runs your little village?"

"It's not that little…but our chief is Lupus Magnus!" "Big wolf?"

"Yes." "How come you know Latin?" "The doctor experimented on us…he turned us into what you see before you. We don't remember our past lives, but we do remember what he called us…and some Latin."

"I see…and the rest you had to do on your own? Not bad, being dumped in a deadly jungle and making a culture on the spot."

"It's bound to be quite a vibrant culture too…are we close?" Asked Rachel. Felix nodded.

"Oh, yeah, we should be…there!"

They pointed, and off in the distance they saw torches and huts. The were-village. Nick looked at the others.

"Okay, time to really getting pulling! Let's bring this into the village, double-time!"

One…two…three!

All of them pulled, dragging the Kraken's body toward the village on their specially hand-crafted cart. Soon they were inside the village, and many were-beings of different sizes, shapes and varities greeted them. A large one sitting in a big, ornate chair caught Nick's eye.

He had silver/grey fur, with wicked claws, and gleaming emerald eyes. He had on a golden necklace, and was wearing a very tattered white shirt with even more tattered jeans. He had large, clawed feet too, and a black nose. It was a were-wolf…a big one.

"Lupus Magnus." Nick said, with a slight tone of awe. Magnus nodded. "I am he. Who are you?"

"I'm Nick, a viewtiful hero. Joe, Sylvia and Blue gave me a v-watch so that I could stop JAGOW."

Magnus arched an eyebrow. "You were sent to stop JAGOW? Why do they not come themselves?" "They kinda can't…powerless."

"I'll not inquire any further about them." Nick raised a hand, and Magnus nodded. "Yes?"

"How come you have on a t-shirt and jeans? How come so many of you are wearing "normal" clothes?"

"We only came into being several weeks ago. Many of us still retain some of our old clothing. They are the only physical evidence we have that links us to our humanity…that…and this gold necklace."

"Who's was it?" "It went to the doctor's biggest and greatest were-creation…me. Therefore, I am the chief."

"Someone hasn't challenged you for rule?" "They did…" "But they're dead now, right?" "No, but we did punish them." "How?"

Magnus pointed into a section of the crowd of were-beings. There was a were-cat that had a big red X written on his open chest.

"We stole that from the doctor's place when we escaped." "So the doc found humans, experimented on them and turned them into were-beings…the were-beings escaped, and stole everything they could from the lab during the escape?" Cameo Leon asked.

"Yes."

"Wow…tough life. If you wanted to, would you like to go back to being human?"

Nick thought he saw a glimmer of sadness in the werewolf's eyes, but then it was replaced by indifference.

"We don't care that much."

"Well anyway…with the help of my friends and your three brave warriors, I killed the Kraken that's been terrorizing all of you for so long."

"I see…we shall indeed eat well tonight! Light the fires! Prepare the banquet! There's not a moment to lose!"

In an hour, everything was ready, and the cooks got to work, carving off pieces of meat and flesh from the body of the Kraken. The tentacles were dipped into a specially made sauce created from a mixture of fat, citrus juice and some stolen Teriyaki sauce…and it had delicious results.

"And to think…I said I'd always hate seafood!" One taste and Nick had died and gone to heaven.

"Well, this isn't like the kind of stuff those cramped restaurants make." Rachel commented.

"Mmm…goooood…"

"Eat up, Cameo Leon, we've earned it…oh Rachel! I forgot…you can't eat this stuff, can you?"

"No…"

"Sorry I don't have a battery or anything…"

"I'll just shove it into my converter."

"What?" Suddenly Rachel picked up a big piece of Kraken and placed it into a big open compartment that was open in the middle of her stomach. The compartment closed, and then whirring and pinging noises could be heard for a few moments. Then, Rachel sighed happily.

"That IS good."

"Uhh…"

"Converted the carbon-based energy into pure plasma energy that I can "eat"."

"Okay…I don't think I want to know how you drink."

"With a straw."

"Nevermind! Food! Eat! Now!"

Nick started cramming Kraken meat into his mouth, gulping it down and taking large swigs of juice.

"This juice is amazing! What's in it?"

"It's orange, apple, grape and cherry juice all mixed together!"

"Cool…"

Nick finished his juice, and then took a bite out of a big vegetable that had been carved into a "N" by the cooks.

"Interesting…tastes a bit like a…hmm…"

"We love eating that type of herb!"

"What…what kind of herb?"

"Peppers!"

"Uh, out of curiosity…" Nick's face was turning bright red as he spoke. "Were the peppers _bell_-shaped before you carved them?"

"No."

"I thought so…WATER! WATER! AAA!"

Nick ran running towards a big bowl of collected rainwater, and dunked his head inside, while everyone laughed.

Magnus shook his head. "These gods are crazy."

Alastor, meanwhile, was watching from far off, chuckling. "Eating a hot pepper…heh. This kid cracks me up!"

Eventually the night quieted down, and the three heroes said that they had to say goodbye.

"We've got to get back to our temporary home…"

"Please, stay with us!" Begged Felix. "We'll let you use our rooms!"

"Uh…well…what do you think guys?"

"Why not?" said Cameo Leon and Rachel. Nick shrugged.

"I guess we're staying for the night then!" Magnus smiled and nodded.

"Get the gods the best beds we have!" He ordered.

As in turns out, the best beds they had were ALSO stolen. They were big, fluffy mattresses with plain blue blankets. Nick didn't care about the look as long as the sleep was of good quality, so he wrapped himself up in the blanket, and laid down to sleep in his specially designated hut. Cameo Leon and Rachel were in huts to the left and right respectively, and Magnus was right across from Nick's. Nick felt sleep claim him, and he drifted off into slumber.

Rachel and Cameo Leon also slept soundly, as did the were-beings. Alastor, however, was now quite unhappy. He didn't bring a bed with him, and he was very tired.

So he flew down from the trees and landed on Nick's hut. He stretched, and sprawled out across it, letting sleep take him. At least the hut's top was mossy and relatively soft…certainly better than sleeping in a tree or on a fragile branch.

The next morning though, Alastor regretted having slept on the hut. His weight had been too much…he'd fallen through the hut and into the room where Nick was snoozing.

Nick had woken up instantly, and had looked Alastor right in the eye. Then he'd said, "Here…you can share my blanket."

He'd tossed Alastor half of the blanket and went back to bed. Now they were sleeping sort of side by side, with Alastor on the floor and Nick on the mattress. Both slept soundly after that, but Alastor's back was really sore from the fall.

That's why, in the morning, he made up his mind that he would confront Nick the moment he left the village. No more stalling.

That morning, Nick and the others did indeed leave the village, saying goodbye to everyone and heading towards Dr. Kranken's laboratory. Nick took off ahead, eager to get there first…but then someone whispered to him from the bushes.

"Psst…psst! Nick! I need to tell you something."

Nick looked to his left. Lupus Magnus stepped out of the bushes, looking a little bit guilty.

"I…I know you're not gods. I know you're just a human blessed with power, like Joe and the others…but you really helped my kind, so…thank you. If you need our help…"

Magnus handed Nick a little wooden whistle. "Call us."

He bowed deeply, and then became hidden in the jungle once more. Nick blinked, and fingered the whistle.

"Hmm…okay…I'll use it well, Magnus."

He pocked the whistle, and headed back off down the trail…

Only to meet Alastor.

For those of you who don't know what Alastor looks like, I'll tell you. He had purple armor on his chest, with purple gloves and boots to match. He also had a pink visor that covered glowing reddish eyes, eyes without pupils. His lower face looked quite handsome, with a fine chin and nose. His leg and arms were covered in light armor as well, but were a different shade of purple. Alastor had a large dark grey sword in his hand, with an ornate hilt. He sprouted black bat wings, a thick demonic tail that was the color of midnight, and had large horns on his big, dark purple helmet. They were curved, like a ram's.

Nick whistled. "Nice threads, Alastor. Still, you'd look a lot nicer if you were in your normal attire, you know…the clothing that makes you look kinda like a priest?"

"Oh, that…uh…it got burned. You see, I…uh…wait a minute, why am I talking to you like this? Stop confusing me!" Alastor sounded a bit like Joe, only a little bit more…darker. He definitely had the tone of a tough, cool punk. He could have been in a movi-nevermind.

"I'm supposed to be your enemy, aren't I?"

"I guess." Nick said, jiggling his foot in impatience. "Can I get past? Come on, I haven't got all day! I have to save my family, so move it."

"Your family said you're very contradictory…I think they were right. Selfish yet noble…"

"Alastor, I know you were a good guy. Why would you work for jerks like JAGOW?"

"Well…uh…what else am I going to do? All I care about is fighting. I live for the thrill of battle, I lust for the fight, a tussle, a rumble, a good old-fashioned beat-down…THAT'S my shtick!"

"What about Goldie?" Nick asked…and then he saw something on Alastor's face that surprised him and scared him…

Fear…and intense sorrow.

"She…she…"

Alastor shook tears out of his eyes and pointed his sword at Nick.

"No more head games! You're fighting me now! You think you're sooo tough, but let's face it…you're a wanna-be! You're nothing more than the understudy, Nick, and you can never hope to be as good as Joe and the others! No matter how hard you try…you'll always be nothing more than a pitiful replacement for some of the greatest heroes in the world!"

"I thought they were your rivals, and that you didn't like them." Nick said, grinning a bit. Alastor bit his lip, then growled.

"Don't distract me! You're just a substitute! And you'll never be anywhere NEAR as powerful as Joe and the others…and they'll never be anywhere NEAR my power! You're finished, you fourth-stringer!"

Alastor pressed a button on his belt, and his theme music started up.

**BGM: Blade Master (Cyber Blade Master Alastor's Theme) **

Nick struck his pose. "I always liked this music…this should be an exciting fight! Sorry Alastor…but I'm not going to lose to someone who can't even decide what side he's on!"

Nick grinned and you know what came next.

"TIME TO **ROCK! HENSHIN**!"

Once more Nick transformed in spectacular fashion, and he flew towards Alastor, kicking at the demon. Alastor ducked, and tried to stab Nick through the stomach, but Nick activated SLOW just in time, twirling around and avoiding the sword. Then he activated ZOOM, and slammed down on Alastor with his tornado move. Smashing Alastor into the ground, Nick looked down, and stuck his tongue out.

"Nyah Nya-OOF!"

Alastor had punched him in the gut. Nick staggered back, and shook his head dizzily. Alastor jumped up into the air, aiming a finger at Nick.

"AIR RAID!" He screamed. Nick didn't dodge in time, and purple lightning, zooming through the air from Alastor's fingertips struck him in the chest, and sending him flying through the air. Nick landed with a thud, and staggered up, now a little bit angry.

"You're going DOWN! MACH SPEED!"

Nick sped towards Alastor, and jumped up. With a mighty uppercut, he sent the demon flying up into the air. Then Nick activated ZOOM and SLOW, and as Alastor fell back down, he slammed both fists into Alastor's falling body…and activating REPLAY at the same time.

Once! Twice! Thrice! Alastor went flying into a tree, snapping the thing in half. The demon landed in mud, sending jungle pigs scurrying away as Nick landed deftly on the ground, doing a victory dance.

"Uh huh! Uh huh! I'm bad! I'm bad! Who's a hero? Not a zero? N-I-C-K G-R-E-Y! NICK! GREY! YAY!"

Alastor groaned, and rubbed his stomach. "Oww…" he said. Then, glaring, he swung his sword in a cicle, and then aimed it at Nick.

"Lightning Strike!"

Suddenly purple lightning struck the ground around Nick, who began running here and there trying to avoid the bolts. He didn't, therefore, see Alastor get up and fly into the air, twirling his sword. When the lightning had stopped, Nick did so too, wheezing and puffing.

"Phew…that…hoo…was clo-"

"STRIKE RAID!" Uh oh. Suddenly Alastor flung his sword into the air, and it shimmered with a deep blue aura. Nick gazed on, and jumped when the sword suddenly MULTIPLIED into 13 swords, including the original one. They suddenly zoomed towards Nick, one after another. Nick barely managed to dodge some of them, but one of them clipped the side of his chest, and he screamed. Then another sliced his leg, and he sank down to one knee, grabbing at the leg.

Alastor chuckled. "You're finished, you lousy wanna-be!"

The other swords continued to zoom towards him…but Nick was ready! He looked up, angrily, and using SLOW, he jumped right towards the oncoming blades. Alastor stared. What the heck was he doing? No way…he couldn't be…

He was! Nick used SLOW to bat the swords, turning the blue aura into a GREEN one, and making them flip around and fly right at Alastor, who was struck over and over by the sharp, greenly-blazing swords HE had created. He fell to the ground, and groaned.

"I'm…I'm…I'm not finished!" He said. He stood up, and held his hands up. A dark, purple ball of plasma energy began forming in Alastor's hands, and he arched his arms back a little. "You're FINISHED, you wanna-be!" He flung the ball of energy at Nick, and it zoomed towards him. But Nick wasn't going to just sit there and be hit. He pointed at Alastor.

"I'm no wanna-be…I'M THE REAL, MOTHERFUCKING DEAL!" Activating the power of SLOW and ZOOM, he lunged forward with both hands, and the energy slammed into his open palms…not doing anything but turning in place, crackling slightly.

Then, Nick tossed the ball into the air, and when it fell down right in front of him again his right fist punched the ball of energy with all of Nick's might and will.

"YEAAH!" Nick shouted as he punched it, and the ball of energy zoomed towards a very surprised Alastor, who didn't have time to dodge. Alastor was struck right in the chest, and a huge dome of purple energy encased him, finally creating a large explosion whose shockwave blew Nick back. Nick quickly got back up, and walked over to a charred and coughing Alastor, whose armor was cracked, helmet slightly crushed, visor broken. The demon's deep purple eyes looked into Nick's green eyes, and the JAGOW general smiled.

"You…you ARE the real deal."

(The theme song ends.)

Nick lifted Alastor up, and looked him up and down.

"Nothing broken?"

"No…my armor saved my life…but DAMN…I…I can barely stand!"

Nick just patted Alastor on the shoulder. "Hey…you're cool. You're the Blade Master, aren't you? You can survive a little explosion!"

Rachel and Cameo Leon gawked. They'd seen the whole fight, and were amazed that EITHER one of the two warriors were still standing. They simply watched as Alastor and Nick talked.

Alastor rubbed the back of his head, and his smiled embarrassingly. "Uh…this feels awkward, losing to someone who's not even out of high school. But MAN!" He grinned and pointed at Nick's costume. "Your costume is sweet, and those moves? Your whole attitude, even…it was all so passionate! Dynamic, you know?"

Nick suddenly stiffened, eyes widening. "What word did you use to describe my superheroness?" "Dynamic. Why?"

"Yeah…that's my name…"

Nick walked away, looking up at the sky. "Yeah…oh, if those guys could see me now! I have a superhero name now! This is an important event…I better think up a pose. Hmm…ooh! I know!"

Nick turned around, smiling. He held up his right arm in front of his face, fist clenched.

"I'm Nick…"

Then the young hero spun around, and then stopped, facing Alastor, with his arms spread out, hands making the "rock-on" position, looking sorta like an angel of Rock and Roll thanks to the wonderful fluttering motions of his long cape.

"Dy-nam-ic Nick!" Then he relaxed and walked over to Alastor. "Nice name, huh? Anyway, why not come with us? We got an extra bed or two in the trailer."

Alastor blinked. "I still don't get you. I've heard so much from your family, watched your actions, even fought you…but I still don't understand you. Why are you so nice to me, even after I tried to kill you?"

"I just feel it's the right thing to do." Nick stated.

And that ended it.

**Alastor's Note:**

**Yeah, uh, read and review, mortals! Come on! Help a brother out here! I'm packing heat, and I need to eat! Reviews pay the bills! Okay, not really, but they're really appreciated. **


	12. Not Another Mad Scientist Movie!

**Good day to you. I am the mighty and brilliant JAGOW general Dr. Cranken. I am a JAGOW elite, and the head of it's department of science and research. I have been experimenting with different animals and humans in order to create the ultimate fighting machine…but every time I got close to perfection, it turns out I had done it all wrong.**

**This formula was written wrong, I had used the wrong reactant, I had forgotten a necessary catalyst, I won't go into details. My scientific brain, as brilliant as it is, has been making far too many mistakes. Another Joe, Cameo Leon, the were-beings, my bestial creations…they cannot stop this fool. So it looks as if I will have to lay a trap, and then I will take care of Nick myself. He won't be able to resist the bait you see…**

**For I have captured something that is of the utmost importance to him…his mentors! His friends! Joe, Sylvia and Blue have been brought to my laboratory, and I will send out a messenger to tell Nick of just what I plan to do to them.**

**I wonder what I'll mate them all with…I've made some interesting new creatures that are able to have intercourse with humans…but it causes incredible pain to the human. Oh well. Only the strong survive, a lesson Another Joe learned the hard way. Now I must head back to my laboratory. If this all goes well, the great leader will reward me with incredible amounts of money that I shall use to continue my wonderful experiments!**

"One…two…one, two three four!"

_You look like an angel…_

_Walk like an angel…_

_Talk like an angel…but I got wiiiiise…you're the devil in disguise! Oh yes you are, you're the devil in disguise! _

_You fooled me with your kisses…you cheated and you schemed! Heaven knows how you lied to me…you're not the way you seem! _

_You look like an angel…_

_Walk like an angel…_

_Talk like an angel…but I got wiiiiise…you're the devil in disguise! Oh yes you are, you're the devil in disguise! _

_I thought that I was in heaven…but I was sure surprised! Heaven help me, I didn't see…the devil in your eyes! _

_You look like an angel…_

_Walk like an angel…_

_Talk like an angel…but I got wiiiiise…you're the devil in disguise! Oh yes you are, you're the devil in disguise! _

_You're the devil in disguise! Oh yes you are…you're the devil in disguise! Oh yes you are…you're the devil in disguise! You're the devil in disguise! Oh yes you are…you're the devil in disguise! You're the devil in disguise! Oh yes you are… the devil in disguise!_

Nick clapped enthusiastically. "Frickin' A, man! Alastor, you have a great singing voice."

Alastor, smiled. "Thanks. You're good yourself, Nick. Really good!"

Nick just shrugged. "I'm getting better, I suppose."

Alastor, Cameo Leon, Nick and Rachel were all at their trailer, singing their favorite songs. Cameo Leon had already gone, having sung "Superman" by Five for Fighting, and Rachel had sung "Sister" by Icehouse. (Nick loved Icehouse, so he applauded the loudest.)

Nick was just about to sing, and he thought they'd really like the song.

"Elvis Presley himself would be impressed with your rendition, Alastor." "I can't compare to his voice, he was the one who thought the song up and all…it was really made for him and all that…"

"Hey Nick! What are YOU going to sing?" "Gee…hmm…I dunno. I'm not sure…I have a lot of favorites…"

Suddenly Rachel whipped around, and a moment later, so did Alastor. They stood up from their tree stumps, and turned to the north. "Someone's coming."

Cameo Leon was the next to hear it. "Wings…" he said, and jumped up. "I'll hide, and wait on top of the trailer." He vanished and Nick heard him jump up onto the trailer. Now he was lying in wait. Nick soon heard the flapping.

Whatever was flapping, it had large wings. Heavy too, from the sound of it. He waited and waited…

But he didn't have to wait long. A gigantic pterodactyl soared towards them, aiming low. It took one last flap and then landed on the ground. Then Nick got a better look. It wasn't really a pterodactyl, but a were-being, by the looks of one. Although it's head and its wings and talons matched a pterodactyl's, everything else was man-like. It was a dark greenish/blue, and it had unnatural red eyes. It had muscular arms and legs, and thick talons and claws. Its wings were at least twice as big as it was…and it was pretty big. It wasn't wearing any clothes, except for a little necklace around its neck that bore JAGOW's symbol.

For some reason, Nick felt that the doctor could have at least covered up the thing's privates, which looked WAY too much like a human's.

"I am Dr. Kranken's esteemed messenger, Lacertavis. I bring a message from the doctor to all of you."

Nick stepped forward, v-watch glowing and ready. "Yeah, well just say it and get lost." Lacertavis smiled in a nasty fashion, and that smile was hard to pull off, since he had a large beak.

"The message is simple. Ah-hem…"Dynamic Nick, I, the brilliant and amazing Dr. Cranken have managed to capture your little friends. Viewtiful Joe, Sexy Sylvia and Captain Blue are in my laboratory, at my mercy. They were easy to catch, since they had no v-watches." And then he starts gloating." Lacertavis made a "and so-on and so-on" motion with his hand. "He just starts gloating and _gloating_ and gloating and **gloating** about how powerful and smart and wonderful he is for about ten whole minutes. The point is, he's captured your friends and he's going to experiment on them unless you have the nerve to rescue them."

Nick's eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed. "What does he plan to do with my friends?" he growled. Lacertavis shrugged, but he was still smiling. "I don't know what he'll do…with Joe and Blue anyway. Sylvia is mine to deal with. I'm looking forward to our little…"date". I should enjoy it quite a bit." Nick's eyes widened. "The doctor's gonna do what Hojo tried to do in Final Fantasy Seven? Get a beast to mate with a human? That's freaking SICK!" He pointed an accusing finger at Lacertavis. "Don't you DARE rape my friend! She's a lady, you know!" "I've already picked out the candles." Said the smug were-pterodactyl. He then flapped his wings and took off into the air.

"If you want your friends back, you'd better go save them. Oh, and as for the three traitors…my master is going to take each of you apart and feed you to his new creation. See you then…and good luck getting into the doctor's compound in the first place, fools!" He waved cheekily, and then took off. Nick flicked the prehistoric bird the bird, and then turned to the others.

"Well we'd better get going-I KNOW it's a trap, don't say anything Rachel. But I have to try anyway. I am NOT going to let my friends get raped by a freak with wings, eaten by some unknown beast or otherwise hurt by a freak who has an octopus head."

Rachel just nodded. "I was actually going to say…how are we going to get in?"

Nick blinked for a few minutes, then smiled and yelled to the heavens, "Let's ride, Six Machine!"

Six Machine touched down near Nick. "Rachel, Alastor, I'm gonna go in and do an aerial assault. You guys try to find another way to sneak in. Rachel…you're in charge." "What the…why HER?" Alastor asked.

Rachel couldn't make a facial expression, but Nick was pretty sure that she if she COULD, she would be smiling right now.

"Because she's more mature than you." Nick said, trying not to laugh at the pouting face Alastor was making.

"She is _nooooooot_!" Alastor whined, jumping up and down. Nick grinned and hopped into Six Machine flying away.

In a few minutes, Nick was soaring through the air towards the nefarious doctor's large laboratory. It was a huge dome-like structure, with smaller, square labs littered around it. Tunnels seemed to connect all of the other buildings to the central dome. A large tower was sticking out of the top of the dome as well.

And of course, there were laser cannons everywhere, and many missile launchers. They sprang from the ground and from the tower, all bristling and ready to destroy the minute Nick got within half a mile of the facility.

Nick crouched down in Six Machine and just grit his teeth. "Okay…here we GO!" He dove towards the tower, with Six Machine's laser guns a-blazing.

"YAAAAAGGGHHAHAAA!" He screamed as he ducked and wove through the air, firing at the laser turrets. Their purple lasers whizzed past his ship, but thanks to Nick's quick maneuvering, he was able to dodge them. Then he activated SLOW and REPLAY. Thanks to slow, his large red laser blasts built up power, and the small beams of energy became large, fireball-style blasts of plasma which flew towards the turrets, blasting them to pieces.

"Woohoo!" Nick punched the air in joy. "I did it, I did-ARGH!" an explosion suddenly struck his ship, and he went veering to the left, heading down. He quickly yanked the controls, and flew back up. Looking in his rear-view mirror, he saw what had struck him…the remains of a missile were partially stuck in Six Machine's armor. "Aw man…I won't be able to buff THAT stuff out." He turned around, firing MACH SPEED lasers rapid fire at the missile turrets, blasting the missiles out of the sky, and soon the turrets were destroyed.

Nick smirked. Now he could zoom in an-Oh crap! Dozens of enemy Verdy-Biankys were flying towards him, riding on jetpacks and sporting black laser guns. "Verdys! I HATE Verdys!" "We hate you too!" one shouted back, as he flew past one. He whipped his ship around, guns a-blazing, meeting the swarm of baddies head-on.

"I'll take you all on at once!" he shouted, and flipped a switch on Six Machine. Then, pressing a button on his control stick, he launched a cluster of missiles at the Verdys, sending some of them falling to the ground, scrapped. But everyone else in the swarm just scattered, so Nick took off after a smaller group that had grouped together. He squeezed his trigger, and fired, fired, fired at the Verdy swarm.

"Take that!" he yelled triumphantly, as every single one got shot down. He cheered, but then he had to duck, because a laser beam suddenly shot right across his jet. He looked to his left and saw a Verdy aiming it's laser gun right at him. Taking a more up-close approach, he rammed his ship into the Verdy, knocking it's jet off and sending it plummeting to the jungle below.

Continuing his aerial assault, he dodged and ducked all over the air, flying around the tower a few times to dodge Verdy assaults. "Hold still you dickheads!" he yelled out, and blasted away. Although he was chipping away at the defenses, Nick couldn't keep this up forever. He decided to end it, and flew right towards the glass window of the tower, blasting his guns. The lasers blew the glass apart, and Nick grinned. Then he jumped out of Six Machine, kicking its controls and sending the jet heading off in another direction.

He soared through the air, cape fluttering in the breeze as he headed for the window. After he'd passed through the broken-up window, Nick rolled on the carpet of the room that the window belonged to, and then jumped up, heading for the door. He quickly shut it and raced down the stairs just as lasers tore the door apart. He jumped down the steps and headed down as fast as he could towards the ground floor, where he could hear animalistic growls and cries for help. The lab was obviously at the very bottom of the tower, in the big dome.

A sturdy-looking wooden door blocked his way. One good SLOW/REPLAY punch later and the door wasn't sturdy but in pieces, and Nick had rushed into the laboratory.

It was staggeringly amazing inside. From inside the dome you could see outside, but nobody could see in. One-way glass or something, Nick guessed. Thousands of boxes, crates, cages and other containment objects were placed around the dome, and many had freaky animals inside. Large, human-sized capsules all lined up in a row on the far left of the dome. On the right was the doctor's experimental equipment, foreign and unusual. Nick hadn't the slightest clue what any of it did, and from the looks of most of the equipment, he didn't want to find out.

He walked towards the capsules and looked inside. Eww! Were-beings, not quite born yet. They weren't human, but weren't animalistic either. They looked like large, freaky fetuses from hell. He backed away, feeling creeped out just by looking at them. "I can't stand it when people try to play God on such a large scale…and on sentient beings…that's just fracked-up! This isn't science, it's just plain sickening!" A deep, educated voice spoke. "Geniuses and true artists are NEVER respected in their own time." Nick whipped around, flicking off the speaker. "Not until they're dead! And in a few minutes, you're going to be EXTREMELY dead!"

It was Dr. Cranken. He had on a large lab coat, with white pants and plain black shoes. He had white gloves on his right hand, and his left hand was a large purple tentacle with many suckers. His head was like an octopus or a squid's, but it was purple in color. He also seemed to have a robotic brain, with many blinking lights and several small switches. Little dials and displays were scattered all over it. When people said that the doctor had a big head, they meant it both ways. He was also wearing a white glove on his normal hand and had a stick that had a golden skull on the top, which the doctor gripped. He was pointing at Nick.

"You've caused me a lot of grief boy." Nick just shrugged. "That's what superheroes do…cause villains grief, save the world, get the girl, do good deeds. All in a day's work." "You think you're pretty powerful, but you're NOTHING in comparison to MY creation…and to myself, for that matter." Nick just rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've heard it all before. "I am the mighty Doctor Cranken, and I have come to dominate the world with my brilliant scientific achievements!" I know your villain type." The doctor suddenly turned a reddish-purple, and Nick realized he was blushing. "You actually said that "I am the mighty doctor" stuff? Ha! I can read you like a book!" He started laughing, but then the doctor pointed his stick up into the air, and a hatch opened from the top of the cane. A bolt of lightning zoomed out, and before Nick could react, he was struck down. He fell to the ground, conked out. Dr. Cranken loomed over his body, smug. "So can I, child. So…can…I."

Nick woke up on a large experiment table that reminded him of science fiction movies. He sat up…or at least tried to. But he found that he was chained to the table, and that his v-watch was hanging from a hook above him. "Can't reach it, can you boy?" said a smug Dr. Cranken from an observation booth just to Nick's left. Nick was in some strange lab outside of the dome, and a large grate covered all exits. The laboratory looked like a cross between an examination hall and a Roman coliseum.

"Where the hell am I?" "This is testing facility Ceta. I am here to test out my creations, to determine how strong they truly are…to determine how strong YOU are." Suddenly the chains snapped! A laser had cut through them, extended from the top of the booth. "There. Take your little accessory, and see what good it will do you against my creature."

Nick stood up and grabbed his watch. He put it on, and shouted out "TIME TO **ROCK**! **HENSHIN**!" and transformed once more. Striking his signature pose, he pointed at the mad scientist.

"Okay doctor…let me out!" "Or you'll what, boy? I think I'M in charge of the situation here. You'll fight my newest creation! Oh…he's activating."

Activating? Nick turned around to see one of the grated exits left up its large, steel grates. The exit was no longer barred, and Nick could escape…or something could get in. Unfortunately, the second option happened. Something very large entered the "arena".

It was a large, freakishly so, dog. It had huge claws, and an anaconda for a tail. It had sharp teeth, and midnight-black fur. It's reddish eyes glowed menacingly, and it's three heads all turned and looked at Nick, grinning in a sick fashion. It was Cerberus, the guardian hell-dog of the underworld.

"Holy _shit_!" Nick shouted. He jumped down from the table, mouth agape…but only for a moment. Then he took up a fighting position. "Time for some old-fashioned obedience training then!" Cerberus wasn't in the mood for talking. It howled, and rushed at Nick, lunging at him with claws drawn, extended to their fullest. Nick used SLOW and ducked underneath the jumping dog, and then executed an uppercut punch to the pooch's exposed belly as it passed over the hero. It went flying into the stands, but soon jumped back up, growling menacingly. It jumped down at Nick, and this time it tried to crush him beneath it's weight, but Nick rolled to the side with MACH SPEED, and it slammed down on air.

Cerberus roared, and the anaconda that was it's tail whipped towards Nick, who ducked just in time. Then Nick grabbed the anaconda/tail thing and pinched it hard…using REPLAY to triple the pain. The guardian dog of hell yelped, and retreated to the end of the arena, crying pathetically. Nick felt sorry for the pup, he didn't like beating up an animal…but then it whipped around, all six of it's eyes glaring hatefully at him.

"I suppose I will have to provide aerial support so that my creation's extension can destroy you more easily." Cranken flipped a switch, and the roof of the arena/lab opened, flooding moonlight into the laboratory. It was night already? He'd been out for at least 6 hours? Nick mentally slapped himself, but soon he had to duck, because a swarm of angry Verdys came swooping in, firing lasers. Nick did several cartwheels out of the way, and narrowly missed them all.

Cerberus, however, didn't like the extra help. Nick had only just landed back on his feet when he heard several screams coming from the end of the arena. He looked up and was pretty shocked to see that Cerberus was snapping its jaws at the Verdys. All three heads reached out in different directions, snapping and growling, trying to catch the green robots that continued to fly all over. The Verdys were suddenly more afraid of Cerberus than they were of the doctor's punishment, and instead of attacking Nick, they began to weave around the room, trying to escape…but the doctor had closed the roof. "I SAID **KILL HIM**!" screamed the doctor, but to no avail.

Suddenly Cerberus's anaconda/tail hissed, and it's gleaming red eyes narrowed as it stretched out, and in a single fluid motion, grabbed the head of a Verdy with it's mighty jaws. Nick could hear the robot screaming, as the anaconda/tail gulped it down. Nick saw the robot slowly be swallowed, and saw the form of it go down the snakes neck and into it's belly…and then down into the body of Cerberus, who began chuckling. Chuckling? Jeez, it was smarter than it looked! The other Verdys desperately tried to escape, but this proved to be useless. Another Verdy, in a futile attempt to end the threat, dive-bombed the big dog, but in a moment it's middle head snapped up, and it's jaws enclosed around the robot. It squealed as the dog gulped it down, swallowing it up a moment later. The two other heads watched as the first head swallowed the Verdy up, and they chuckled as the form of the devoured Verdy slid down the middle head's throat and into Cerberus's belly. All three heads turned to face Nick, and each face grinned.

"You'll get your turn…" "Soon enough…" "Dynamic Nick." "No need for me to hurry." "I've got nothing but time." "And I haven't been fed in so long…" each head spoke, much to Nick's surprise.

"You speak! That's…that's weird." Cerberus just shrugged slightly. "Possibly…" "But talk is cheap…" "So my actions will speak for me." He suddenly snapped up another Verdy, and swallowed it in a single gulp. "Now then…" "To get back to my feast…" "I'll save you for last." One by one, it leapt at the Verdy's, swallowing them up with it's anaconda/tail, gulping it down with a snap of it's jaws, or seizing it in it's clawed paws and popping them, screaming, into it's wide maws. In about twenty minutes it had finished, and it marked each Verdy's passing with a large fart and several burps. "Disgusting." said Nick, who was trying very not to puke. "Now then…" said the beasts left head. "I suppose…" said the right. "That you're going to be my dessert." The center head spoke last, and it suddenly lunged. Nick jumped to meet it, activating SLOW and REPLAY.

"Take THIS, you rotten mutt!" He drew his fist back, and punched.

KRUNCH!

Cerberus's middle snout let out a sickening crunch and it flew into the booth that Doctor Cranken was in. The doctor screamed as the beast fell in front of him. It slowly staggered up, shaking it's heads. "Ugh…" they all said…and then they turned to face the doctor. "You!" the hell-dog guardian's eyes narrowed, and the doctor didn't even have time to scream as the dog's jaws tore him apart. Every head got a little piece of doctor to call a meal. Soon there wasn't anything left of the freak who had tried to play God. Nick sighed. Cerberus turned around and shook all of it's heads. "That was not the doctor…" "It was merely a clone…" "The true doctor is still out there…"

"What?" Nick blinked. "Then where the fuck is he?" The dog just sat down and began to drift off into sleep. "Hey! Wait! I got quest-oh forget it." The three-headed dog snored loudly, and didn't wake up. Nick just shrugged, and headed for the only exit left…the large hole where Cerberus had entered the arena from. Perhaps the mad doctor was here…

Nope. Not here. But what WAS here was a long, creepy hallway that was silent and cold. Nick shivered a little as he walked through it. Nothing was here…

No…wait! The doctor was here after all! He was running to the exit, puffing. "Damn it!" he was saying. "I can't believe I lost control!" Nick ran after him with MACH SPEED, and soon caught up to the doctor, grabbing the jerk by the arm. "Hold it, you sick bastard!" He flung the doctor against the wall, and the mad scientist slumped to the floor.

"So…you've got clones?" "Yes…in fact, I am a clone myself! The REAL doctor is waiting at the end of the hallway…but you won't reach there!" "What makes you think I won't? You're weak." "Oh no I'm not…I'm not 100 Cranken clone. I have an extension…in me…" "Huh?"

Suddenly the doctor began to shudder, violently. Nick stepped back, taking up a fighting pose. He had a bad feeling as to what was going to happen…

And sure enough, it happened. The doctor's body burst, and a freakish creature suddenly grew from it's pulpy, bloody remains. It stepped out onto the floor, with large taloned feet. It had an insectoid face, with large pincers and antennae. It had four arms, all with hands made up of three claws. It was three times as large as a human, and looked twice as strong. It had a large tail, with a stinger at the end. You could see inside the stinger's stalk, and strangely colored venom swished around inside the stinger. The insectoid frightened Nick, who normally wasn't afraid of bugs…but this, was an exception. It growled, and all eight of it's eyes blinked menacingly at Nick, glinting gold against it's black body. A second mouth on it's belly uttered a roar. It looked like the Kraken's mouth.

Nick took another step back, ready to fight for his life. The creature rushed him striking with it's claws, but Nick ducked and kicked the creature in the face, sending it reeling back…but suddenly it jumped up, and kicked off the wall. It zoomed towards Nick, and with a mighty blow knocked him to the ground. Nick groaned in pain, and tried to get up, but suddenly the insectoid's claws pinned his arms to the ground, and it's taloned feet pinned Nick's legs. It's second mouth drooled over him, and then the beast hoisted Nick up, to face the creature.

"I am your death. I am the death of all life. I am Cimex. You will be enjoyed greatly as a meal." Its pincers suddenly reached out and seized Nick's head, and it withdrew its clawed hands. The pincers lifted Nick into the air, above the wide open maw of Cimex. The beasts arms were spread apart from it's body, as if it was thanking some sick god for this meal. Then Nick felt himself being shoved into the wide maw of the beast, being slowly gulped as the pincer's shoved his body down, down, deeper into it's mouth. Soon his feet vanished, and Cimex gulped. It rubbed it's belly with all four of it's claws, and it's eight eyes closed in ecstasy. "Delicious." It said. It laughed loudly and deeply, with both mouths.

Inside, Nick felt himself being drawn up…towards the stinger of the beast. Suddenly he realized why the stinger's venom had looked so strange…the beast's venom was it's digested prey! He was going to be slowly digested and later used as poison to prey on some innocent victim, his last remains flowing into the body of someone else, as they slowly died, all because of this freaking BUG!

He was NOT gonna be digested by an overgrown beetle!

Nick kicked and punched, but nothing seemed to work. The beast's muscles continued to move him towards the digestive chamber of the stinger, and Nick began to lose hope…until he remembered.

ZOOM!

Of course!

Duuuuuh!

He spun around and around and around using ZOOM, and the more he spun, the more he could hear Cimex's armor cracking. The beast soon found that his meal was becoming a major tummyache…and soon it became an ulcer…and then it happened. Nick spun so fast inside the beast that his entire body became engulfed in razor sharp VFX energy, just as if he was doing a slam onto Cimex instead of rolling around really fast. It cut open Cimex's body from the inside, ripping the beast in half. Cimex screamed, and fell to the ground as Nick stepped out, wiping guts and blood off of his suit.

"Gross!" Nick said. "I am NEVER doing that again…" suddenly a snarl! Cimex had leapt up with it's upper body to finish Nick…but this time Nick got the upper hand, and he whipped around, punching Cimex in the face, shattering the beast's head. The remains fell with a sickening PLOP, and Nick let out an "ugh" of disgust. "He deserved it." he told himself, and Nick headed for the end of the hallway, towards the doctor's hiding place.

Nick stepped through the doorway, and into a dark room. "SHOW YOURSELF, DOCTOR!" he screamed. And then, a spotlight turned on. The real Dr. Cranken stepped forward, bowing. "So you beat my creature's extension and my clones. Impressive. But you will fall before ME!"

Nick just flicked the mad scientist off, and then pointed at himself with his thumb. "Doctor Grey is in, his prescription…one good, healthy ass-kicking! Let's get this party started, doc." The doctor reached up to his robotic brain, and flicked a switch. Theme music began to play.

"Very well. Let us begin!"

**BGM: Mad Scientist (Mad Cyber Scientist Dr. Cranken's Theme)**

Nick took up a battle pose, and ran up to the doctor, fist drawn back. "RAAAHHH!" He screamed a battle cry, and his fist slammed into the doctor's chest…doing jack-diddly. "What the?" Nick was suddenly backhanded by the doctor's large tentacle, and he fell to the floor. He stood back up, and decided to go for a SLOW kick. He whipped around, and activated SLOW, striking the doctor with a roundhouse kick to the chest. But nothing happened! In fact, Nick's foot now stung like hell!

He grabbed it, and jumped up and down, rubbing his sore foot. "Ow-ow-ow!" He yelled out, as the doctor chuckled. "You cannot possibly hope to beat me!" The doctor extended his skull cane/thingy to the sky and it shot lightning at Nick again, but this time Nick leapt to the side, and he launched himself at the doctor, striking the doctor's brain. Dr. Cranken fell to the floor, spluttering in rage. His brain let out steam from two different ends, and the doctor's face turned red with anger. "Why you…"

The doctor suddenly ripped of his shirt with his tentacle, revealing a strong-looking metallic chest. Then he ripped off his pants, which made Nick want to immediately look away. But seeing as looking away and being killed because of it was worse than seeing someone's freaky dick, he took a look.

Phew!

No willy. BUT the doctor's legs were artificial, made of metal as well. "I am now 65 cyborg! Only my arms, hand, tentacle and large head still contains traces of organic material." "What about that metal brain?" "It's not really my brain…it just happens to be connected to it. It accelerates my thinking…my actions…LIKET THIS!" He suddenly stretched his arms wide, and his chest opened up, revealing little holes. Nick knew what was coming next. He had to SLOW dodge as dozens of tiny missiles burst all around him.

Then the doctor got down on one knee, and pulled his kneecap open. His left knee suddenly shot out a grapping hook, which grabbed Nick's leg. "Wha-yargh!" Nick was rudely whipped towards Cranken, who struck Nick across the face with his stick. Nick fell to the floor, sporting a bloody nose. He wiped the bloody off, and jumped up.

"Have a dose of MACH SPEED!" He ran right at the doctor, and began rapidly punching the doctor's face over and over, smashing hard. When the assault was over the doctor collapsed on the ground, bleeding profusely. Nick wiped his nose again and walked off. "You've lost, doctor…oh no." Nick suddenly heard laughing…the doctor was laughing madly, getting back up. "That won't stop me, child!" He held his stick high up, and lighting whizzed towards Nick again. Nick ducked, and ran towards the doctor, but this time the mad scientist was ready, and his chest opened, revealing the missile launchers again. They zoomed towards Nick, striking him all over, and sending him flying into the wall.

"ARGH!" Nick slowly fell to the ground, hitting the hard metal floor. He slowly staggered up and grit his teeth, fighting back the pain. "I need a plan…what can take him down…I can't stay in one place for too long, and I can't get close to him for long either…I need a distrac-that's it!"

Nick jumped into the air and dodged a lightning bolt. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his whistle. The gift from Lupus Magnus! "Perfect! He said I could call for help…and I sure need help!"

He put the whistle to his lips and blew hard…no sound came out. He landed on the floor, and tried again. He succeeded in sending spit flying everywhere, but no sound came out. The doctor laughed. "That whistle is obviously broken! As you will be soon!" The doctor suddenly ran right at Nick, and before Nick could react, he was kneed in the stomach, and he spat out blood as he slumped to the ground. The doctor stood over him laughing. "Now…to begin my experiment on you." He picked Nick up and carried Nick over to an experimental table, throwing him down hard. Nick didn't even have the strength to raise his head. The doctor took out a knife of sorts from a desk drawer with his tentacle and chuckled. "Let's see what's inside you…"

Suddenly a shout. "BASTARD!" The doctor was grabbed around the neck by a long, slimy, pink tongue, and was thrown into the wall. Then a familiar form jumped down. "Cameo Leon…you came!" "So did I, Dynamic Nick!" Rachel stood right behind Alastor who nodded and said "I wish you'd put me in charge, but...we're here to help." Cameo Leon uncorked a bottle of water and poured some into Nick's throat. Nick spluttered and gasped, but the liquid refreshment did go down his throat, soothing and cool. He slowly sat up, and rubbed his throat. "Th…thanks, guys." He hopped down from the table and faced them. "So the whistle called you guys?" Alastor raised an eyebrow. "Naw, we snuck in like you said. We didn't hear any whistle." "Than what the hell does it…"

Suddenly the glass windows burst, and from the hallway flooded in the entire were-tribe! Lupus Magnus, holding a huge spear, lead them all. He went down on one knee in front of Nick, smiling. "We heard, and we came." "Ohh! It's like a dog whistle, then. Cool! Now then…PILE ON THE MAD SCIENTIST!" Nick pointed at the woozy-looking Dr. Cranken, who suddenly stood up, horrified. "You…impossible, how did you…"

"Get him!" roared Lupus Magnus, and the tribe rushed at him, spears, swords and clubs drawn. The doctor pressed a button on his stick, and suddenly an army of Biankys popped down from the ceiling, falling towards the tribe. A fierce battle began to ensue, and the doctor began to sneak away in the confusion. He headed towards a back door, and ran through another hallway, heading for safety…

Only to be knocked to the ground by a well-aimed flying ZOOM kick. "I'm not finished with you yet, you freak!" Nick grabbed the doctor by the arm and then slammed him into the wall, head-first. The doctor screamed, and his metallic head region shattered into pieces. He slumped to the floor, and the light went out of his eyes. He had finally been defeated. His arms slumped to the floor, and his leg gave one last twitch before he died. Nick wiped sweat off of his forehead and powered down. "Phew! Finally…he got what he deserved. Nobody who can create such sick life deserves my pity."

(Theme music ends.)

He began to head back to the battle, hoping to help his friends, when he heard a voice call out from the exit…

"Nick…Niiiick…" He turned around…and saw a shadowy form. His eyes widened. It was a humanoid robot that seemed to be composed of living shadow. "I am the doctor's finest creation ever. I created those extensions that you fought, Cimex and Cerberus. I am Deus Ex Machina." "Your name is "God from a Machine"? That's blasphemous…I think." The form just shrugged its shoulders. "Those beasts were part of me, and I have to admit…I owe you a debt of thanks. You destroyed my weak creator, and I'm grateful. However, you also destroyed one of my extensions." "I had no choice. I wasn't going to let you eat me." "The extensions are not truly me, but…they are a part of me. In any case…I am unsure as to what to do with you." "What do you want outta life?"

D.E.M blinked. "What?" Nick smiled coyly. "I saw that in a video game. What do you want outta life?" It blinked again. "I suppose I want to have a purpose…" "Well what can you do, besides create life from a part of you?" D.E.M thought. "I…I DO have complete control over the entire facility, I know where everything is." "Every-THAT'S IT! Do you know where the prisoners Joe, Sylvia and Blue are kept?" "Oh, yes. The doctor sent them to different regions of Movieland, to be watched over by special guardians…or he sent out Joe and Blue, anyway. He decided to let Lacertavis have some fun with Sylvia before she was sent off." "How would he send them off?" "He invented a teleporter machine." "Cool…but there's no time to waste, so take me to Sylvia, and then show me where the teleporter is…please?"

D.E.M nodded. "Since you said "please", I will."

Nick followed D.E.M back through the hallway, and rounded up Alastor, Rachel and Cameo Leon. The battle had been won, the were-beings victorious. Lupus Magnus listened to Nick's description of the doctor's end, and he smiled. "Finally, we are free from his influence forever." "Yeah, but I gotta go rescue Sylvia from being raped!" "She's at the other end of the laboratory complex. Hold on!" D.E.M closed it's eyes, and stretched out it's fingers. Suddenly, everyone became enveloped in darkness…

Only to find themselves just outside of a larger lab building, that wasn't connected to the dome. "She and the teleporter machine are in there." D.E.M said. Nick nodded. "Thanks…I gotta run. What are you going to do, though?" "I think…I'm going to try some things with gardening…" "No man eating plants, though, right?" "Of course not." D.E.M said. "Besides, that's so cliché. I'm going to make new strains of roses instead." "Well good luck." Nick said, shaking D.E.M's shadowy hand.

Then he and the others busted down the door, and ran inside, just in time. Sylvia, half naked, was crawling backwards, away from an approaching Lacertavis, who was grinning nastily. "Now, now, hold still…you'll enjoy this!" The evil being cackled. Nick pointed at the were-pterodactyl and spat out "BACK OFF!" Lacertavis whipped its head around, squawking angrily. "YOU! But I thought…" suddenly Sylvia leapt up, and kicked the jerk in his balls. He grabbed them and fell to the floor in a fetal position, screaming and squawking noisily. Nick rolled his eyes. "Sheesh! You hit hard, Sylvia. I don't care if he IS a fat bastard, you don't kick a man in the balls, it's just not cricket." "That's from "Austin Powers 2", isn't it? Well this jerk isn't a man, so it doesn't count. Let's get going, I have to save my daddy and my fiancé!" Nick nodded. "Well, where's the teleporter-?"

"You're STANDING on it!" Nick looked down. The whole room was one big glowing white pad…except for a patch of floor where Lacertavis was standing on, it contained the teleporter controls. He pressed some buttons and threw a switch. "So long, suckers!" Nick was quick enough to push Alastor and Rachel out the door, and Sylvia pushed Cameo Leon out as well, but the two of them were stuck on the pad. Suddenly it flashed brightly, and the teleporter pad activated. Alastor tried to reach for them, but then they were gone, as if they'd never been there at all. He gulped.

"That's not good…where could they be NOW?" Cameo Leon said. Rachel rubbed her metallic chin. "They could be anywhere in Movieland…I have no idea where the were-being sent them." Alastor had grabbed Lacertavis and was punching him over and over. "Where-did-you-send-them! Where-did-you-send-them! ANSWER ME!" The were-being grinned. "I don't know myself…but they've both gone off in different directions, that I DO know. You'll NEVER find them!"

Alastor screamed and raised a fist high…

Meanwhile, Sylvia and Nick screamed as they felt themselves being PULLED and STRETCHED, hurtling through a bright tunnel towards an unknown destination…


	13. Bad Kitty! Fight the Inferno Lord!

**Hello there…**

**I am one of JAGOW'S elite. I am the furious and powerful warrior, Fire Leo. My brother, Frost Tiger, is currently on vacation, while I have the task of looking after a special object…half of Six Majin! I have the upper half, my brother has the lower half. He's lucky, he buried it in the snow several days ago, and NOBODY will be able to unfreeze it except for my brother and me! Just like nobody will able to get MY half of Six Majin except for my brother and I. **

**Oh don't worry. Six Majin won't melt in my new volcano home. That robot's designed to withstand tough conditions, and I'm making sure that the volcano doesn't get too hot. The only people who can get to either halves of the robot are me and my brother, and we won't go after each other's parts. We are close, and loyal to JAGOW's cause. **

**Still, I miss my brother…he is good company. I miss his haiku and his poetry. I miss sparring with him. I miss building sculptures of fire and ice, comparing each other's work. And most of all, I miss just seeing him. We haven't really seen each other for a week, although we have communicated via vid-screen. But that's not the same, dammit! **

**I have to admit…sometimes I wish…I wish I hadn't joined JADOW or JAGOW. I wish…I wish that I was back on my little desert island, enjoying the tropical breeze. It had THREE volcanoes! THREE! And all large! I wonder if my brother is missing his beautiful winter wonderland home. I'm sure he does. **

**But enough reminiscing. I have received a report that Dynamic Nick was teleported randomly to my location. I can't very well let him go…I have to destroy him, just like I've destroyed may of the villagers who have been living near my volcano. They all have to go.**

**He's at the foot of the volcano, so I think I'll send him a little…reception. Heh heh heh…ha ha ha!**

Being teleported unexpectedly is weird. Really weird.

Imagine this scenario: You feel discombobulated, airsick, like you're at the edge of a cliff and ready to fall.

Worse still, you feel like you're going to puke over and over, while spinning around over and over.

Pretty bad, huh?

Well take that, and make it ten times worse. Then you'll have an idea on how Nick felt.

But where the hell WAS Nick?

Nick groaned and rubbed his head. He stood groggily up, vaguely aware that there was dirt on his shirt and pants. He slowly wiped as much as he could off, and looked around, blinking slowly. He had to get his bearings…

What the…a volcano? He was at the base of a large volcano, which looked quite active. It was smoking nicely, and even rumbling softly. Something about it had a…mystical quality. It was surrounded by dense jungle, and about half a mile to the south of the volcano, Nick could see a large village. It had many huts, and looked like it was from around the Amazon River, based on the hut's design. "I guess watching the Discovery Channel really CAN teach you important things." Nick staggered a little as he walked towards the village, but he soon fell down hard. He pushed himself up, and brushed dirt off his shirt again. "Dang it! Okay, breathe…breathe…" He breathed into his nose and out of his mouth ten times, and then started walking again, feeling a lot more steady…

Then he suddenly vomited on the ground with a loud "GURRUUUAAGAHAAAAAUUUGH!" He spat out some remnants of the puke, and wiped his mouth.

"Ohhh…ohhhh…I wish I was back home…but…but saving my family and Matt comes first…then I can take a well-deserved break from adventur-URGKKLLUUGGHGAAA!"

When he was finally finished, he rubbed his stomach, and groaned, but began staggering towards the village again, slowly feeling better with every little step.

Soon he was at the village…but nobody was around. Not at first glance, anyway. A smoking pot filled with food, a clothes line, several fires that had recently been extinguished…there had been people here recently. Nick called out. "Hello? Anyone here?" No answer.

Then suddenly someone tapped on his back. He turned around and looked down at a small kid.

"Are you a robot?" the kid asked.

Nick blinked. "Why are you asking me if I'm a robot?"

"Because most of the things from the volcano that come here are robots."

Nick chuckled. "Relax, buddy. I'm human."

"Hey, mommy! The guy with the funny watch says he's human."

"Funny watch? Is it…is it a v-watch?"

A woman with blond hair and blue eyes stepped out. She had on khaki pants and a red t-shirt. She was also quite buff. More humans began to emerge from behind the huts and from the jungle around the village, all dressed like normal people…but looking quite dirty, tough, and tired. "Yeah, it's a v-watch. I'm Dynamic Nick!" Nick struck his trademark pose, and smiled. "I was selected to be a successor to Joe! What's going on here? You guys look like you're from America, not from the jungle."

The woman sighed, and sat down. "We…we were from a city several miles away. Unfortunately, the roads back into the city are blocked by JAGOW troops, and the city has been taken over. We had to take up residence here, the ones who escaped the city. But no sooner did we start living here by this dead volcano than…HE came. Fire Leo. He started up the volcano, got it to live and erupt again! This village, we've rebuilt it TWICE. He made the volcano erupt just to spite us. Luckily it hasn't killed any of us…at least not in an eruption."

Nick rubbed his chin. "Any idea what Fire Leo is up to?" "No…but he sends his Metal Leos down to…to take back people…for…for him to eat!" Nick's eyes widened, and he gave the lady a shocked look. "He's EATING you?" "Yes…he came down once, himself, saying that the volcano was his. If we wanted to live here…we had to supply him with food…with ourselves. He loves meat…he devoured my husband right in front of the whole village, the BAST-"

She stopped herself, looking down at her son. "Timmy didn't see it…I made sure of that." Timmy's eyes filled with tears, and he started crying. "Daddyyyy!" he cried. Nick crouched down on his knees and patted the kid's head. "Kid…I'm gonna kick that lion's butt." The kid sniffled. "Really?" "Yep. For all the evil he's done, he deserves it! Has he sent men down yet?" "Yes…he took three as usual today. A woman, a man, and a child. He sometimes takes more…" Nick clapped his hands, and stood up, a look of determination. "I'll go up and take him down."

Suddenly a man ran towards them, with a pair of binoculars. "I just saw a pair of Metal Leos come out from the volcano! They're coming back for MORE!" Nick furrowed his brow and frowned. "What? Maybe he's after me…whatever! I'm gonna kick their butts too." He walked towards the volcano, but suddenly turned back. "Everyone hide, fast! Get as far away as possible!" The villagers nodded.

Nick smiled, and then took up his usual transforming pose. "Time to **ROCK! HENSHIN**!" Transforming spectacularly into Dynamic Nick, he ran up the mountain, towards the two metallic forms that were the Metal Leos, using MACH SPEED. The little kid waved goodbye. "Bye-bye…come back soon!" he said. His mother picked him up, and rushed after the other villagers as they ran for the jungle.

Nick took off up the mountain, running hard with MACH SPEED, and he soon met up with the Metal Leos. He didn't stop, but instead jumped right at the one on the left hand side, and kicked, sending it flying. The other turned towards him, and tried to slash him with it's large claws, but the robot missed, and Nick performed a RHOH punch, turning the robot into pieces of junk with a few well-placed strikes. He then kicked the pieces down the volcano and clapped his hands. "Well, that takes care of one. Now for the othe-" Suddenly he was slashed from behind, and he dropped to one knee, gritting his teeth and groaning. The other Metal Leo raised it's claws again, but this time Nick used MACH SPEED, and whipped around, punching the robot in the face…adding REPLAY to the mix.

In a minute, Nick was resuming his trek up the volcano, with the robots in pieces. He whistled "Cotton Eyed Joe" as he walked, a slight jig in his step. Now if only Fire Leo could be as easy as his metal counterparts…

Inside the volcano, in a large chamber in the volcano wall, were the living quarters of Fire Leo. The chamber had been hollowed out with some work, and now Fire Leo was living comfortably. He had a comfy bed that was fire-proof, a book shelf made of stone, and several dozen action/adventure novels…with a few scattered mysteries. Right now he had "Murder on the Orient Express" placed on top of a desk made of stone, which was a few feet away from his bed. The JAGOW general wasn't ready to read just now, though…he was having dinner. He'd eaten the child first, who had gone down Fire Leo's throat easily. Then he'd devoured, messily, the man. By the end of the meal, only the bones remained…which Fire Leo had displayed on the wall, with other bones of other unfortunates. They had been made into a collage of sorts.

Right now he had the woman in front of him. She was wearing nothing but a large t-shirt, colored pale blue. He stood over her, laughing. He was quite hungry. She tried crawling away, but his large claws simply picked her up, and he laughed in her face. He was twice as big as a human, and three times as strong and tough. He was indeed built like a warrior.

His chest was heavily muscled, as were his arms and legs. He had clawed feet, and instead of fingers, he had four large claws on his paw. His right claws were currently wrapped around the woman, digging into her soft flesh. He had large red eyes, and a snout with a black nose. He wore a Gladiator's shield on his left arm, strapped on. He also had a belt, with the symbol of JAGOW displayed in the center. The strangest thing about him was that the back of his head emitted a dark orange, forever burning flame that was quite large and which was definitely magical...for black sulfur seemed to float up from it, dissipating into the air. Fire Leo's entire orange body was flammable in fact.

"You look tasty." Fire Leo said, chuckling. His voice was very deep, and commanding. The woman was too frightened to speak, which suited Fire Leo just fine. "You'll soon be joining the rest of your family…in my belly!" He opened his jaws wide, and his claws tossed her in, head first. He gulped her down, her body slowly but surely vanishing into the dark recesses of his throat, and into the flames of his belly. When she was finally in his belly, nothing more than a bulge at that, he rubbed it slowly with a single claw, sighing happily. Soon she began to be digested, and he sighed even more happily. "Delicious…absolutely delicious."

FRAAAP. A flame burst out from his butt, and he turned a little bit red. "Shouldn't have swallowed her so fast. Oh well." He sat down on his bed, and picked up "Murder on the Orient Express." He was currently reading the part that talked about luggage evidence. He was fascinated with the story.

"All these twists and turns…who did it? "Why" has been answered, and "How" but not "Who." That's the question." "Well, many mystery novels by Mrs. Christie CAN be solved, if you think a little and if you look closely at even the most minor details." Fire Leo looked up, and frowned angrily. "Who…" he stopped. It was Nick, who was leaning against the walls of his room. He wasn't transformed, and looked sweaty and hot…but he didn't seem to care.

"Man, I feel _sticky_…but whatever. Heroics come before personal desires." Nick pointed accusingly at Fire Leo. "You think you can just eat whoever you want? Uh-uh, you bastard! It's time for the big payback!" Nick took up a fighting pose, and glared. "You're going down!"

Fire Leo put his book down, and rubbed his hands. "I was looking forward to this. I've heard about your skills, and I've seen you in action. So let's just cut the chatter and get down to the fighting." "Now that's the first sensible thing I've heard all day! Time to **ROCK!** **HENSHIN**!" Transforming again, he held out a hand and did the "Bring it" gesture.

The JAGOW general smiled and gestured towards the exit. "Did you happen to see what was below in the volcano?" Nick shook his head. "Go take a look. I will not attack. You have my word of honor. I may be a murderer, true, but I AM a lion of my word." Nick shrugged, and took a look down in the volcano.

"WOAH!" It was the upper half of Six Majin! The large robot looked a lot like Joe, with a metal V-Insignia on it's large red helmet, and with big red and grey armor. It had huge yellow eyes, and you could see broad, protected shoulders. But only the upper half was sticking out.

"So you've got Six Majin inside the volcano's lava…and it isn't burning because it's that tough?" "Actually, that's only the top half. Me and my brother are the only ones who can get each other's halves of Six Majin…and you'll NEVER get your hands on either one, whether you defeat me or not!" "Do you miss your brother?" Nick asked silently. Fire Leo stopped talking and stared at Nick. "Wh-what? What are you saying?" "I get the feeling that you feel pretty alone. That's your picture on the wall up there, isn't it?" Fire Leo looked to his right. A picture of a smiling Frost Tiger and Fire Leo was hanging from a natural hook in the wall. Fire Leo slowly nodded. "Yes, I do miss him…but I cannot see him until we have conquered Movieland. Once we have though…" "You'll go running to him, and he to you, right? You guys are lucky, you know." Fire Leo tilted his head to the side a bit. "How?" he asked.

Nick sighed. "Me and David, who's my brother…we don't get along. At all. I wish we had as good a relationship as you did with YOUR brother. We're always fighting and arguing, and we don't really have much in common…and he NEVER is thankful for anything I do, nor does he congratulate me when I do ANYTHING good." Fire Leo didn't say a word. Then, he spoke.

"You don't seem to be a normal hero…you've got quite a few issues, I can tell. But listen, to tell the truth, me and my brother used to fight a lot too, when we were your age. But we got closer as we got older. You just have to be kind to him as often as you can, and to stick up for him when it matters. If you do, then you can look back on your life and say "Yes, I was a good brother to him." People just have to try their best…"

"You know…I get the feeling you're not all bad…but I can't let you get away with murder. So I'm gonna have to kick your ass." Fire Leo shrugged. "Nothing personal, kid…but I'm going to have to kill you. Prepare yourself."

Fire Leo touched the golden insignia on his belt, and with a "beep" his theme music began.

**BGM: Inferno Lord (Inferno Lord Fire Leo's Theme) **

Nick ran at Fire Leo with MACH SPEED and began administering a series or rapid punches and kicks. "Ki-yah-yah-yah-yah-yaaaaah!" he screamed as he attacked. Fire Leo stood there, taking the blows. Finally Nick finished, and he stood there, panting. "Hoo…haa…" "Are you finished?" "Yeah…" "Good." Fire Leo backhanded Nick, sending him through the air, flying into the wall with a loud crack. "Oooh…that hurt!" Nick groaned as he stood back up. Fire Leo smirked. "I haven't even started yet!" He ran at Nick, claws ready to tear, but Nick jumped over Fire Leo and struck him on the back with a ZOOM downward strike.

"How do you like THAT!" Nick said as he jumped off of Fire Leo's back. He laughed…but then stopped as the inferno lord turned around, smiling devilishly. "That barely scratched me, kid." Fire Leo said. He roared, and then spat out a large burst of flame from his mouth. "Hot stuff! Yikes!" Nick yelled, and jumped over the fireball.

Fire Leo spat out more and more, and Nick ducked and dodged and dove to avoid them, all the while getting closer. Then he made his move, combing the power of ZOOM with SLOW to attack Fire Leo just as the lion's head was held back to hack up another fireball. Nick struck the inferno lord right in the stomach, making Fire Leo gasp, and spit out a puff of smoke. Then he doubled over, groaning. Nick took a step back, and then followed up that punch with a SLOW and REPLAY uppercut to Fire Leo's large chin.

Once! Twice! Thrice! Fire Leo went flying through the air, towards the end of the cave, where he collapsed on the ground. Nick smiled. "How do you like me now, hotshot?" Suddenly Fire Leo jumped back up, and charged Nick. Nick tried to dodge in time, but the big lion barreled over him, trampling him into the ground. Moaning, Nick pulled himself out and turned around…now Fire Leo was at the mouth of the chamber…with flames covering his body in a hellish aura of fire. The inferno lord grinned widely. "How do you like ME now, you little squirt?" Nick whistled. "Whooooo…that's a nice trick, there."

"So it THIS!" Fire Leo suddenly shot towards Nick, and his entire body became like one large fireball! Nick was slammed into the opposite end of the cave by the large, flaming body of Fire Leo, and then he was struck over and over by Fire Leo's clawed assaults.

Nick managed to knock Fire Leo away, but now he was bleeding all over. He placed on hand on the wall and steadied himself. "Oh man…I…I gotta wrap this up FAST…" Nick thought. He shook his head and took a step towards Fire Leo. "I'm not giving up that easily. Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!" Fire Leo just chuckled. "What can you POSSIBLY do to hurt me? None of your attacks will damage me with my aura of flame on!" "True…but what if I matched that aura?" Fire Leo blinked his red eyes. "What?" he said simply. Nick grinned, and walked over to the bed. Suddenly Fire Leo realized what Nick was up to. "Oh no, not my-"

WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM! Nick's punches slammed into the hard rock of the bed over and over and over, sending out hundreds of little sparks that flew all over the room like a little fireworks display. "NOOOO!" Fire Leo screamed. The JAGOW general tried to stop Nick, but too late! Nick's hands and entire body were flaming just like Fire Leo. Nick grinned, and shot forward, using MACH SPEED, and with, screaming a battle cry, executed the Red Hot One Hundred with ZOOM and REPLAY. Over and over and over his punches were three times magnified in power! Fire Leo had barely managed to get his shield up in time, but it cracked in a minute. Now he was at Nick's mercy, and he was being pummeled and struck over and over by a harsh, deadly attack.

Finally, Nick slammed his head into Fire Leo's face, and the inferno lord staggered back, grabbing his sore face and moaning.

(Music ends.)

Nick suddenly saw the danger…Fire Leo was about to fall into the lava!

The JAGOW general didn't even have time to utter a cry as he stepped off the edge of the volcano's inner rim and fell down…only to be grabbed around the arm by Nick. Fire Leo blinked and looked up at Nick. Nick was straining to lift the inferno lord up, trying to use all of his muscle. "What are you doing, trying to save me?" "YES!" Fire Leo raised an eyebrow. "Why?" he asked Nick. Nick grit his teeth and managed to get out, in between gasps of pain…

"It's the right thing…to…do! I'm not…gonna let you fall…to your doom! That's not…right, murderer or not!" Fire Leo was silent. He did nothing but stare up into Nick's tightened, sweaty, pain-filled face…and then he smiled. "You're trying to save me? Because you think it's "right", is that it? Just because it's the right thing to do, you would save me, the being who would have gladly eaten you alive?" "YES!" Nick said, barely able to hold on, and feeling very edgy. Fire Leo raised a clawed hand. "Let me go." Nick looked down at the inferno lord. "What the hell are you saying?" he asked. "Let me go." Fire Leo replied. "But…" "LET ME GO." Nick tried to voice his refusal, but he couldn't honestly hold on any more…and he felt so tired and weak…

He let go. Fire Leo, smiling all the way, plummeted into the lava, completely submerging. Nick looked down in horror. "Oh Jesus Christ…I didn't want THAT to happen…I tried to help him, and THIS is what he does? This…this feels wrong, this feels so wrong, being alive while he's dead…" Nick stood up and continued to stare. Then he sighed and turned away. "There's nothing I can do to help him now…I guess I'd better-what the?" suddenly a "phwooshing" sound echoed up from the lava, filling the volcano. Nick looked back down, and saw Fire Leo riding up a mountain of lava, up to Nick's level. Gaping, Nick watched as the Fire Leo rode the pillar up, and then jumped off and next to Nick, smiling. "Nice sentiment, but your heroics weren't necessary. I would have survived. It actually felt good." Nick blinked slowly, still gaping. "You know, you could fit a ship in a bottle inside that wide-open mouth of yours." Nick closed it up. "You survived…wow, I…okay…"

He put his hands on the back of his head and bit his lip. "Does that mean we start fighting again?" he asked. Fire Leo just shook his head. "No…I will help you. Nobody but my brother has been as kind to me as you have…so I will help you, by removing the threat that this volcano possesses…and by giving you the upper half of Six Majin! BEHOLD, CHILD!" Fire Leo strode over to the rim of the volcano and raised his clawed hands. The lava slowly but surely retreated back into the earth, and more and more of Six Majin became freed, until finally all of the lava vanished from the volcano like water going down the drain. The volcano was now nothing more than a volcano in outer looks, an empty cone. But Six Majin's upper half had been freed, and now the people near the volcano could rest easy.

"Wow…that was cool." "Being a master of fire has it's perks." "Well…I still need the bottom half. Where is your brother?" "Guarding the bottom half in the coldest part of this continent…the northern Yukon region." "That doesn't exactly sound inviting." "Nobody has ever gone there and survived. Does that put you off?" Nick just smiled. "Naaaaah! I like a challenge, and besides, I'm used to cold weather…I AM from New England." "Well, I can't argue with that, but all the same, I shall accompany you. Perhaps I can talk my brother into simply GIVING you Six Majin."

Nick smiled, and shook Fire Leo's hand. "Well then…what are we waiting for? We're heading north, Yukon ho!"

He turned around, and began to walk towards the exit…then he stopped. "Wait…how are we going to get the upper half of Six Majin from here to there?"

Fire Leo smiled and clapped his clawed paws. A horde of Metal Leos emerged from other caves. "They'll pick up the tab, forgive the pun." Nick rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just get moving. The sooner we get there, the better." "You'd better stop at the village and get some warmer clothes." "Okay, I'll go and ask if I can mooch some jackets from them…but maybe you better not come with me…at least, not to the village."

Fire Leo sighed, but nodded. "Fair enough."

Half an hour later, Nick was in the village again. "You beat Fire Leo?" "Yep. He's defeated. Now I go to beat his brother in the Yukon area in the north." The little girl suddenly jumped up and down. "Oh, you can't! It's REALLY cold up there!" "Well, I guess…" A grateful townsperson suddenly brought out a big bag. "What's this?" "Some nice, warm clothes. They'll help you in the yukon." "Once I defeat his brother, I shall return and I'll blow up those JAGOW flunkies that are keeping you from your city!"

But the woman he had met earlier shook her head. "Naw…we'll be fine." "Huh?" "We can do it ourselves. You taught us that we have to stand up for ourselves. So that's what we're gonna do." The little girl nodded and clapped her hands. "We're gonna kick butt!" "Don't say butt." Nick said cheerfully. He shook hands with the woman and took the bag. "Good luck, all of you." He walked into the jungle, and the townsfolk soon heard the words "**LET'S RIDE, SIX MACHINE!**" Five minutes later a jet shot through the air, and the townsfolk all turned to look at each other. The woman nodded, and raised a gun to the air. "We attack at dawn! Get ready, everyone! We will not let them control us anymore!" The little girl raised a little plastic shovel and shook it. "Yeah! We'll beat those fuddy-duddies!"

Meanwhile, the Metal Leos had the unfortunate job of carrying the lower half of Six Majin…and it took all of Fire Leo's remaining troops to do it. The scene looked a lot like a bunch of mettalic ants carrying half of half of what they had wanted to catch.

"I hate my life." One particularly miserable said.

"Just shut up and haul, 146!" Number 834 snapped.

Fire Leo looked at Nick. "You sure you can beat my brother?" Nick looked at Fire Leo as if he was crazy. "Hey, I've beaten a lot of you JAGOWS, haven't I? I an beat one more. Now…I need some tunes!" Nick pressed a button on his v-watch, and a song began playing.

"Cool! Bowling for Soup's "Girl all the Bad Guys Want"!"

"Bowling for what?" Fire Leo asked, skeptically raising his left eyebrow.

"Bowling for Soup! They're bitchin, just listen! Hey, that rhymes! I think. Oh it's like a bad movie, she is looking through me, if you were me then you'd be screaming "Someone shoot me!" as I fail miserably trying to get the girl all the bad guys want! 'Cuz she's the girl all the bad guys want!"

In a few minutes, both of them were singing. It was an addictive song.

"Cuz she's the girl all the bad guys want! Cuz she's the girl all the bad guys want! Cuz she's the girl all the bad guys want! Cuz she's the girl all the bad guys want! Cuz she's the girl all the bad guys want! Cuz she's the girl all the bad guys want!"


	14. Bad Kitty! Fight the Blizzard Master!

**Many greetings to you.**

**I am one of JAGOW'S elite. I am the furious and powerful warrior, Frost Tiger. My brother, Fire Leo, is currently on vacation, while I have the task of looking after a special object…half of Six Majin! I have the lower half and my brother has the upper half. He is quite lucky, for he buried it inside volcanic lava several days ago and NOBODY will be able to get it out except for my brother and me! Just like nobody will able to get MY half of Six Majin except for my brother and I. **

**But enough of that. It is boring, guarding a big hulk of machinery. Still, I managed to find ways to pass the time. I have composed several haikus, that focus on my brother, the snow…and my boredom. I have MANY a haiku devoted to boredom. Want to-no? Fine. In any case…I really wish that there were something for me to do. You can only explore the wilderness of ice and snow so many times. **

**Still, I miss my brother…he is good company. I miss his artwork and his love of mysteries. I miss sparring with him. I miss building sculptures of fire and ice, comparing each other's work. And most of all, I miss just seeing him. We have not really seen each other for a week, although we have communicated via vid-screen. But it is not the same thing as actually seeing him, curse it all!**

**Anyhow, I have recently found something interesting…a blip on the radar screen. It appears that Dynamic Nick has managed to reach the Yukon area, and that he's within five miles of me. Well he will not be staying here much longer. **

**I have ways of dealing with uninvited guests…heh heh heh…wa ha ha!**

"I'm cold." "Shut up! I know, dammit!" "Well can't you go any faster?" "NO! The snow is hard to trudge though, Fire Leo! So shut up and walk!" "I can't believe that my fire went out so quickly…" "Well, deal with it." "I am. I'm griping." "Deal with it in a CONSTRUCTIVE way."

They had reached the icy north, leaving the job of lugging Six Majin's upper half to some of Fire Leo's Metal Leo robots, who had fallen WAY behind. Right now, both Fire Leo and Dynamic Nick were walking through a heavy snowfall, as large flakes continued to pour from the sky. Fire Leo's burning head had long been extinguished, and Nick had gotten cranky. He'd bundled up, with four layers…but he was still cold.

"I don't believe this. An undershirt, a t-shirt, a sweater AND a thick winter coat, and it's still not enough! AND I'm wearing flannel-lined jeans and snowpants, with big thick socks and sweaters. And my gloves, geez! Two big thick pair of gloves that do NOTHING. This sucks, being out here…" "Well, my body heat is usually in the thousands, and even I'M cold." "How cold do you feel?" "It's very, VERY nippy." "Yeah, well I feel like I've been covered in ice cubes!"

They trudged on, though it was hard to see through all of the snow. There were no trees around, and no plants or animals of any kind. However, they COULD make out a mountain close by. There MIGHT be a cave.

"How close do you think we are to the mountain?" "Two miles, perhaps!" They had to shout now, the wind was picking up. "I think we had best hurry!" "You don't need to tell ME!" Nick and Fire Leo doubled their efforts, and, groaning and shivering, ran as best they could through the blizzard.

They finally reached the mountain, and were facing a sheer rock wall that seemed to reach to the heavens. "So we climb?" "We climb. You can go first, Fire Leo." "No, you can go first." "Okay, then…" Nick grabbed onto a ledge and hoisted himself up. Then he jumped and grabbed onto another ledge, pulling himself up. And so it went, on and on. He kept hoisting himself up onto ledges…until…

"HEY! I found a cave up here! Come on!" Fire Leo grinned, and jumped up. Now HE was climbing the ledges, and soon he was at Nick's level. Nick pointed to a large cave opening. "Look! Let's get inside." They ran inside, and immediately slipped on ice…careening through the cave, screaming. "YAAAAAAA!" Nick shouted, flailing wildly. "Hold on!" Fire Leo said, and dug his claws into the ice, grabbing onto Nick with his other hand. It worked, and they stopped with a halt. The two carefully stood up. Nick looked around. "Can't you melt the ice?" "No…I need to be around a source of heat in order for my power to work." "Hmm…maybe…just maybe…"

Nick took up his transformation pose. "Time to **ROCK! HENSHIN**!" He was Dynamic once again. He quickly used MACH SPEED to rub his hands together, and in a few minutes, they were burning fiercely. "Nice! Now try!" Fire Leo nodded appreciatively and spread out his hands. In a moment, a bright, fiery aura surrounded him. And then, the ice began to melt, and melt…and then it was water…and then it had melted away into steam, which dissipated into the air. Nick scraped out a small hole in the ground, and put some rocks around it. Then Fire Leo brought up fire in the pit, and the two sat around the flames, just warming up.

But soon, only Fire Leo needed warming up. Nick was grinning. "Why are you so happy?" asked Fire Leo. "I'm not cold at all! I'm warm! In fact…I'm burning up! I gotta get these coats and stuff off!" He quickly discarded them, and was now in his full Dynamic attire. "So the suit makes you warm. I wish I had one." "Well at least we've got a fire going."

Suddenly the mountain shook. The cave began to get jiggy with it, and Fire Leo and Nick were bouncing around on the hard ground, shouting and yelling. Then, a strange sound…like…like…

"An avalanche! Oh shit! We gotta get deeper into the cave!" Nick began crawling towards the end, and Fire Leo followed. Ten seconds later, the avalanche hit the cave, causing the whole thing to shake with one last big shudder that almost snapped Nick's head back. The entrance became blocked by snow and ice, meaning one thing: They were trapped.

"We're stuck in here!" "No way! I'll just whip up a fire, and then-crud. The fire went out." "I'll make another fire, and punch our way out!" Nick ran over to the entrance, which was blocked off, and used MACH SPEED again. Now that his hands were flaming, he could break through the ice that blocked their way out!

Unfortunately…the flames went out in a few moments. Nick held his hands up, eyebrows raised. "The hell? What's going on here?" Fire Leo rubbed his chin. "There might not be enough oxygen in this cave for the flame to last." "Not much oxygen in here? But that means that…oh shit." Nick walked back, shaken. "We're gonna suffocate and die in this cave?" he asked Fire Leo. The inferno lord nodded. "That appears to be the case." "Shiiiiit. This sucks out loud."

Fire Leo nodded. "Let us conserve our energy. Sit." Nick sat down, and the two sat next to each other, trying to think of a way out. Seconds, minutes, hours passed. They began to get colder and colder, and their breaths became ragged as the oxygen was slowly used up. Nick was looking around, desperately searching for a way out. Fire Leo was rocking on his heels, in the process of losing his mind.

"Oh, I'm going to crack up any minute now. I'm going to crack up, I can feel it, I'm going to crack up…"

Suddenly the cave began to shake. "Oh, not again!" Nick said. _"This is it! I'm cracking up!"_ screamed Fire Leo, who began to rock himself in a fetal position, wailing and moaning. Nick whacked him on his back. "Keep it together man! We'll get through th-WOAH!"

Suddenly a deep chasm opened in the middle of the cave. Nick cautiously walked over to it and peered down. "Hmm…wow." He said. "Looks like it goes a long way down…let's check it out!" Fire Leo instantly bounded in, not wanting to stick around. "Cannonbaaaaallll!" he shouted. "Wait for meeeeee!" Nick said as he also jumped in. The two fell down the chasm and onto a natural slide of sorts, made of ice. Soon they were riding down towards a beautiful looking cavern with lovely icicles that hung from the celing. They finally sloped down onto the cavern ground, and picked themselves up. "This place looks familiar…" Nick said.

"It should. It is my brother's cavern." "Frost Tiger's pad? Cool. But where's the lower half of Six Majin?" Fire Leo looked around, and shrugged. "I do not know. It SHOULD be here." he said. Nick rolled his eyes and kicked at the ground. "Great. We have no idea where either your brother OR-what the?" He looked up. Something had caught his attention when he rolled his eyes, and that something was none other than the lower half of Six Majin, frozen in ice and buried ABOVE them! "Pretty slick." Nick said. "Now how are we going to get it OUT of there?"

Fire Leo chuckled. "Leave that to me!" he said. He prepared to fire a flaming blast at the lower half of Six Majin's frozen prison when someone spoke.

"Do not touch that thing. It is my duty to guard. You cannot have it." A swift, sleek form suddenly sprang from the ground itself, snarling. It took up a fighting position, and growled deeply. The sabretooth tiger that stood on two legs had snow-white fur, with icicles rising from it's head, just like it's brother had flames continuously rising. But the icicles seemed to be crackling as they rose up, and instead of growing taller, their ends were always breaking off into little sparkles of ice. The sabretooth tiger also had long and sharp claws made of ice, and was wearing a dark blue vest that wasn't made to be buttoned or closed at all. It showed off his large muscles. He had sharp fangs made of ice too, and piercing blue eyes.

"I am Frost Tiger." It said. "I am JAGOW's samurai. You won't defeat me." He was speaking to Nick, seemingly oblivious to the fact that his own flesh and blood was standing right next to the dynamic hero. "Uh, yeah…could you stop speaking in haikus and talk like a NORMAL person?" Nick asked. "Fine then, but you shall not win against me anyway, haikus or not."

Fire Leo suddenly stepped forward. "Brother, don't. We want your half of Six Majin." "Brother, you…you…" Frost Tiger looked a bit like someone had just hit him in the face. "You betrayed the cause!" "I was working for the wrong side." Frost Tiger clucked his tongue. "Why did you switch so soon?" Fire Leo put his paws on his hips. "Brother, we don't have time for this. Just hand over the lower half of Six Majin. Please."

Frost Tiger shook his head. "I think not. It's my duty to guard it, and guard it I will. Why did you change your loyalty?" "Nick made me realize that what I did as a general of JAGOW was wrong. We have hurt a lot of innocents trying to obey our master's wishes, and Nick showed me that that was wrong." Frost Tiger was silent.

"And…he tried saved my life."

Frost Tiger's eyes widened. "WHAT? He tried saved your life? But…but he is one of Viewitful Joe's allies! Why would he save you? He…he should have killed you!" "Look, I'm not like Joe and the others. I'm different." Frost Tiger raised his eyebrow. "Really?" "I thought he was going to fall into lava and die, so I grabbed his paw before he could fall in, but he ended up falling in anyway…"

Frost Tiger nodded, smiling in a rather ominous way. "And my brother can withstand the temperature of lava. So you DID try to save his life. As pointless as it was, that was also noble. I admire your noble soul." "It was just the right thing to do." Nick said, shrugging. Frost Tiger waved a single claw in the air. "Uh-uh…it's more than that. Even though your actions were not necessary, they still say a lot about you. What you did was more than the right thing. It was quite noble…but also stupid, and not just stupid because your heroics weren't needed, it was stupid because now he and I shall double-team and destroy you."

Nick took a step back, a little bit surprised. Frost Tiger looked at Fire Leo, holding out his clawed paw. "Brother, let's finish him off."

Fire Leo looked at his brother…and turned away.

"No." he said. "I'm through with killing people."

Frost Tiger's eyes widened in shock…for all of five seconds. Then he growled angrily, and his eyes became feral. "If you will not aid me, then you are an enemy!" He suddenly jumped on his brother, punching Fire Leo in the face over and over. "Death to all traitors!" Frost Tiger said. Fire Leo did nothing to stop the abuse, he simply took it over and over. Nick gaped, watching the scene in horror and fascination.

"Geez, this is just like the arguments me and my bro sometimes have."

Suddenly things got dangerous. Frost Tiger raised his clawed paw. "Farewell, brother. No traitors can live. That is the way of JAGOW, and as a samurai, I am obliged to do whatever my master orders. I cannot disobey the master, that is what a soldier and a samurai does. " Fire Leo did nothing but watch as the claws twitched, glinting in the light of the cavern. "Farewell, brother…" Fire Leo said, and he closed his eyes. Frost Tiger's claws thrust down…

**KABLAM!**

Fist met face, and Frost Tiger went flying through the air, slamming into the wall of the cavern. He fell to the ground, groaning, rubbing his sore face. Nick blew white fur off of his fist, and took up a battle pose. "What ever happened to brotherly love?" He asked. Frost Tiger leapt to his feet, baring his teeth. "How dare you! You little upstart!" "I wasn't just gonna stand her and let you kill my new friend."

Silence.

"Fuh…friend?" Frost Tiger managed to get out. "Yeah, he's my new friend." Nick said. "Something wrong with that?" Frost Tiger began to laugh over and over. "What's so freaking funny?" Nick asked. "You're so hopelessly naïve. Enemies can NEVER be friends." Fire Leo stood up, brushing himself off. "Nick…" "I know. I'm gonna have to fight him. Listen Frost Tiger, you and I both know that we have conflicting views. So why don't we settle it the way we know you want to settle it…let's talk with our fists!"

Frost Tiger licked one of his claws menacingly. "I thought you would never ask. In the grand scheme of my master, I am merely a soldier with a title, and as such, I will do what he asks. I shall rip you apart, and separate your head from your shoulders. I will then present the head to my lady." "My lady? Ooh, you've got a girlfriend? Cool." "No, I don't." "Well then who-"

Nick didn't get to finish the question. Frost Tiger leapt at him, claws extended, ready to tear Nick apart. Nick somersaulted back, and landed deftly on his hands, then on his feet with another good flip. Frost Tiger grinned. "Ah, so the fight should be good!" He walked over to a stereo made of ice, and pressed a button. His theme music began to play.

Frost Tiger bowed. "May your death be honorable, soldier for the forces of good." Nick bowed, then shrugged, and took up a battle pose. "I hope it will be…but you won't get to see it. I think it's time I brought the thaw to this place!"

**BGM: Blizzard Hazard (Frozen Beast Frost Tiger's Theme)**

Frost Tiger rushed at him, claws stretched out. Nick jumped into the air, activating SLOW and slamming down with ZOOM. Nick's feet slammed into Frost Tiger's back, and the big sabretooth went down hard.

Nick laughed and jumped off, but a moment later Frost Tiger kicked out with his leg, and Nick fell to the hard, icy floor. He groaned in pain and staggered up. Frost Tiger grinned. "You're out of your element." "Big schmuck. I can still beat your butt!" Nick said, rushing towards Frost Tiger…

Or rather…ATTEMPTING to rush towards Frost Tiger.

He was just running in place, the ice was that slippery. Nick looked down and saw that he wasn't moving anywhere, and the second he stopped, he fell to the floor AGAIN! He moaned and put his hand to his knees, rubbing them hard. "Owie! Man, I'm gonna feel that in the morning!"

"We all fall down…like toy soldiers!" Fire Leo cracked. Frost Tiger rolled his eyes and took up another battle pose. "Stop moaning. Fight me."

Nick gave Frost Tiger a nasty look and jumped up. "Bring it!" He shouted. The icy samurai happily obliged, rushing forward and jumping into the air. He arched both his clawed paws back, aiming to slice Nick in two, but Nick had a plan! He waited…waited…the claws arched down…

SLOW! ZOOM!

Nick did a somersault kick, knocking Frost Tiger in the face and avoiding the claws. The well-placed kick sent Frost Tiger flying through the air, and he collided with an icicle, sending it plummeting to the ground. He stood back up, dusting ice off.

"Ha! So you can still fight. But I can move freely on ice with these little paws of mine…their claws have excellent traction. What do you have? Smooth spandex! You don't stand a…heh-heh…snowball's chance in hell!"

Nick grudgingly shrugged. "I suppose my odds look bad…but I'll just try harder." "You truly, honestly think you can defeat me?" "Yes. I have to. I have to save my family and my best friend." "They mean that much to you?" "Yes."

Frost Tiger was silent. Then he bowed again. "Huh?" Nick was mystified. The samurai stood back up, flexing his claws. "After I kill you, I shall deliver your body to your loved ones, so that they can see you one last time before they die. At the very least, die knowing that your family will soon join you."

He rushed at Nick, but instead of trying to claw him, he slid on his knees, claws extended. Nick jumped up, but after the samurai passed underneath him, Frost Tiger jumped up as well, and striking Nick across the back before the teen could dodge.

Nick screamed, and blood poured onto the icy floor. Nick fell to the ground, bleeding badly. He staggered up, spitting a bit. "You…won't…beat me!" He shouted. He stood his ground, cracking his knuckles.

"I'll defeat you! Even if…even if I break all my bones in the process!" Frost Tiger sighed. "You will not survive. Now just die, and be at peace." He jumped up at the wall and kicked off it, heading right towards Nick's head, aiming to cut it off…but Nick had a plan!

He jumped up and activated SLOW, kicking off of Frost Tiger's chest as the general lunged for him. Nick flew back, and grabbed onto the snowy wall. He grinned, and raised a fist. "Now…MACH SPEED, BEEYOOOTCH!"

He punched the wall over and over again, and soon his fist was burning. He then kicked off the wall, arching his fist back. "Come on! I'm just burning with youthful fire!" Frost Tiger snarled and leapt at Nick, drawing a clawed paw back. Fire Leo bit his lip as the two warriors collided…

SCHOWCK!

SCHLIP!

Nick landed agilely on the floor. Frost Tiger touched down as well, spinning around. Nick suddenly got on one knee, grabbing his stomach. "Ohh…" "You fought well, but-ARGH!" Frost Tiger suddenly grabbed his stomach, it was burning hot! Nick whipped around, and took his hand away from his stomach…

A little tear on the costume. Nothing more.

"Looks like I win." Nick said, as Frost Tiger collapsed on the ground. He walked over and pointed his still flaming finger at Frost Tiger.

"Give up?"

"I…I concede this fight to you. The better soldier won."

"Nah…the better WARRIOR won."

"What's the difference?"

Nick smiled. "My step-mom told me this. A soldier gives his body up to fight for a lord, a country, or a master. But a warrior fights for what he believes is right. He fights for a true cause, not some unknown master."

(Music ends.)

Frost Tiger stood up, brushing himself off.

"Well? Are you going to let us take your half of Six Majin?"

Frost Tiger was silent for a long time…then he spoke. "Allow me." He raised a hand to the icy ceiling, and the ice began to fall down, and soon, Six Majin began to come lower and lower. "RUN!" Fire Leo said, and both lion and hero ran for the side, taking shelter. They watched as the lower half of Six Majin fell to the ground, coming down with a loud THUD.

"It is yours." Frost Tiger said. Nick smiled, and walked up to it, rubbing the metallic legs. "Awesome!" Nick said. "Now I can head back to the others, and I can find my family!" Frost Tiger smiled…warmly. "Yes. But…but me and my brother will stay here." Nick turned to face Fire Leo and Frost Tiger. "Really? You don't wanna come with me? The other guys will be really grateful to find out how you helped."

But Fire Leo simply wrapped his arm around his brother's shoulder and smiled a big, fanged grin. "No. We've…we've got some serious catching-up to do, don't we?" "True, true." Nick smiled. "Well then…okay, I'll respect your wishes, but…how are we gonna get the lower half of-"

Frost Tiger suddenly closed his eyes and raised his paw to the air. An icy patch of ice suddenly collapsed, revealing a large hole in the ground. "That tunnel ends at the front of the mountain, where the UPPER half of Six Majin is." Nick nodded. "Okay, now to lug it over there!"

Nick, Frost Tiger and Fire Leo pushed, pushed and PUSHED, and slowly but surely, the lower half slid towards the hole, and a few minutes later it was sliding down the tunnel. Nick turned and held out his hand to both the brothers. "Thanks again." He said. Frost Tiger smiled, and shook Nick's hand, as did Fire Leo. "You're a good person." Frost Tiger said. "I hope you find your family and best friend." Nick nodded. "Well, sayonara!" He jumped into the tunnel and slid on down with a "Yaaaahoooooooo!"

The two brothers watched him slide down and then looked at each other. "Well?" "Well what?" "What do you want to do?"

Fire Leo rubbed his chin. "Hmm…oh, I know! Staring contest! Starts…NOW!"

Nick slid down the tunnel, which twisted left, right, and then down, down, doooooowwwwwnnnn…

Nick suddenly shot out of a hole, landing just in front of the large hulk that was Six Majin's lower half. The Metal Leos were there with the upper half of Six Majin. "Now…how to get them together?"

Suddenly he had an idea. "Maybe if I call out…"

He raised his palm to the sky, and called out "LET'S RIDE, SIX MAJIN!"

Nothing at first…and then…

The two halves of Six Majin suddenly began to shake violently, and then they shot into the air, spinning around each other. Nick watched in awe as the two halves suddenly aligned, and then slammed together, forming the full Six Majin. Six Majin punched the air, and struck a pose, slowly hovering to the ground, it's red armor glinting despite the lack of sunlight.

Nick grinned broadly. "That is so freaking COOOOL!" He shouted, jumping up and down. "Awesome! Awesome! So awesome!" Six Majin just shrugged. "Hey, Six Majin? Can you let me in?" Nick called out. Six Majin held out his hand, and Nick jumped up into it. Six Majin lifted Nick up to his helmet, and a hatch opened up. Nick eagerly climbed in, and went down a ladder to the bottom, where the controls were located. They looked a lot like Six Machine's, so Nick would have no problem. Nick took the throttle, and flipped a switch that read "Take off".

"Let's ride, Six Majin!" Nick yelled heroically, and the large robot flew up into the air, turning to the south and taking off through the air with a large roar of engines.


	15. The King Dies Tonight

**I…I am all seeing. I am all knowing. I know now that Nicholas Michael Grey seeks the one named Sylvia so that he can get her back to her friends…but he will not find her. For she is currently at MY mercy. **

**But who am I? You really do not know? Fine, mortal. I'll tell you. I am the great, powerful, omnipotent and VERY stylishly dressed KING BLUE!**

**What's that? You said I shouldn't be around? That I only existed as an evil part of Captain Blue? Well that WAS the truth…but things change, after all. I am my own being now…and a powerful being I am! I am omnipotent, after all.**

**Why are you looking at me like that? Oh, you say that Nick's going to beat me? In case you forgot, I'm the omnipotent King Blue, and he doesn't have the slightest clue as to how to PILOT Six Majin, much less how to FIGHT in it. He'll probably spend at least ten minutes trying to find the radio!**

**He's clueless! He doesn't stand a chance!  
**

**MWA HA HA HA HAAA!**

"Nya-ha-ha-ha-haaa! Who knows…what evil…lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows…nya-ha-ha-ha-haaaa…"

Nick grinned broadly and sat back in the cockpit of Six Majin. "Boy, I didn't know that Movieland had it's own radio station that plays old mysteries…or that Movieland had a radio station period! I just keep learning more and more about it, don't I? And I'm-a likin' what I'm-a learnin'!"

Nick was currently flying at the 200 miles per hour, heading for the nearest big city, searching for Sylvia. Since Nick couldn't rely on finding her via her v-watch signal, he had to rely based on one thing…asking anyone he could find. The nearest city was approaching fast in 30 seconds.

"Okay, Six Majin. When the city comes within range, stop and land. Thanks."

"No problem." Said Six Majin in a booming voice.

Nick grinned. It was cool having a gigantic robot who talked…and who made a decent cheeseburger. Nick was currently eating a double right now, with nothing but cheese and lettuce on it. "A little bit of lettuce won't kill me." He had said. And he was surprised to find that the burger tasted pretty good even WITH the lettuce!

"MMM!" he said, finishing up his burger. He popped the last piece in his mouth and chewed vigorously. Then Six Majin came to a slow stop, finally halting just half a mile from the city. Nick swallowed his burger, and then asked Six Majin to let him out. "My pleasure." said the robot. The cockpit hatch opened, and Nick climbed out, onto Six Majin's hand. The robot crouched down, and Nick hopped off, onto the grassy field on which they'd landed. He tossed the gigantic robot a smile, and then headed for the road into city.

He was soon inside the city, and politely asked the first person he saw if they had seen a blond-haired, glasses-wearing girl named Sylvia around. The person was a middle-aged man in a three-piece suit.

"Have you seen anyone with blond hair and glasses named Sylvia around here?" Nick asked the man. The man shook his head quickly. "Uh, NO. Nobody like that. Now please leave me alone."

The person said, walking off. He seemed a little bit stressed. Nick shrugged, and turned to another person, and old lady with a purse.

"Ma'am, have you seen-"

"Please leave me alone." She said, and walked off.

Nick rubbed his head, a little bit wierded out. "Okay. Fine. I'll find someone else."

He turned to a teen who was listening to some music through a CD player. "Hey, buddy?" Nick asked, waving his hand in front of the kid's face. The kid took the headphones off and looked up at Nick. "Yeah?" asked the teen in a pissed-off tone. He had a Brooklyn accent.

"I'm looking for Sexy Sylvia. You've probably heard of her. She's got blond hair, glasses, blue eyes…"

The teen turned pale. "Did you say-no! No, I haven't seen anyone like that."

He stood up and walked off. Nick rubbed his chin. "Okay, something is very, VERY wrong here."

Then a kid ran by him, panting heavily. The kid wasn't any older than Nick's brother, and he had long, messy blond hair and was wearing a tattered t-shirt with some tattered shorts and sneakers. The kid looked really scared. Nick turned to his left, trying to see who was chasing the kid…

Holy crap! It was the Black Joker bianky! The big flunky was holding his rapier high, and charging at the kid. "Don't think you can get away from me, child!" he shouted. "NOBODY escapes from Black Joker!"

Nick calmly stepped to the side, and stuck his foot out, and Joker went down, face meeting pavement. The kid stopped running, and turned around at the sound of the THUD. He looked at Joker, then at Nick.

"Hey, thanks!" he said in a vague European accent. "Who are you?" Nick grinned. "I'm Dynamic Nick!" he said. "I'm a superhero, and I'm an ally of Viewtiful Joe and Sexy Sylvia!"

The kid's eyes widened. "Did you say…Sexy Sylvia?"

"Yep. Why? I keep asking around if anyone has seen her, but nobody's seen anything…or rather, they SAY they haven't seen anything." The kid crossed his arms and looked down at the street, looking rather on the spot.

"Well…they don't want to tell you…because the truth is, we all know that Sexy Sylvia's been kidnapped. She ended up in this city, and King Blue descended on her and took her away, and he's taking her to his master."

Nick blinked. "Wait…he definitely said he was taking Sylvia to his master?" The kid nodded. "Yep."

Then he puffed himself up, and imitated King Blue's voice, flexing his muscles in silly poses. "I am the omnipotent King Blue! Fear my mighty fists that can crush you in the blink of an eye! I am taking this girl to my even more omnipotent master so that he can consume her soul! Do not try to stop me, or I, the great King Blue, will crush you beneath my mighty feet!"

Nick sweatdropped. "Uh…yeah. Right. Was he really acting like that?" The kid chuckled. "The actions are exaggerated. The speech isn't." "Ah." Nick said.

Joker stood up, rubbing his big, robotic head. "That huuuurt!" He turned around. "Who tripped me? Oh it's…it's YOU!" The Black Joker drew his rapier. "So, you've come back for more pain, huh? I'll rip you into ribbons!"

Nick rolled his eyes. "Listen, you big joke…last time we met, someone certainly got really hurt, but it sure as hell wasn't ME. I kicked _your_ ass, remember?"

Joker sweatdropped. "Uh…true…true…but I've gotten better! Have at you! En garde!"

Nick ducked back, avoiding a rapier slash. "Well then…here we go!" He struck his transformation pose. "TIME TO **ROCK! HENSHIN**!"

Nick transformed, and struck his signature pose. "Dynamic Nick, here to rock the world of all those who threaten the values of good! Bring it, you loser!" Black Joker hollered and rushed at Nick, stabbing fast…but Nick was quicker…or rather, Black Joker was SLOWER.

"SLOW!" Nick shouted. Everything moved in slow motion, and Nick lesurily walked around Black Joe by using MACH SPEED, and then activated ZOOM. With his vision enhanced greatly, Nick saw Black Joker's weak point. There it was, right in the middle of his back, practically screaming "Punch me!" to the dynamic hero.

Nick drew his fist back. "RED HOT ONE HUNDRED!" he shouted, and punched, punched, punched!

WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM-WHAM!

Joker's body thudded and shook with every strike, until finally he collapsed on the ground, panting, his red eye widened in shock, his moustache twitching. "How…how can I lose to a KID?" he asked nobody in particular. "Simple." Nick said. "I'm not just a kid. I'm Dynamic Nick, biyaaaatch!" He raised his fist and brought it down…

Then stopped. Instead of breaking Joker apart, he helped the robot up. "Now…I'm not gonna kill you, but you're going to tell me where I can find King Blue."

Joker laughed. "WHAT? You expect ME to tell YOU where to find my boss? Are you sick in the head, kid? I'm not gonna betray my boss!"

The kid walked up to him. "Hey…I have a way to make him talk." "What's the method of persuasion?" Nick asked. The kid whispered in Nick's ear, and Nick's eyes widened. "Oh my." He said. Then he held Joker up in the air, ignoring the robot's squirming motions. "Now…tell us where King Blue is, or else my friend here shoves his foot so far up your ass, your breath smells like rubber, you got it?"

"AAAA!" Joker screamed. "Not that! All right, all right! I'll talk! I'll talk! King Blue's currently sleeping near the huge mountain range about 200 miles from here, to the east! Just don't kill me, and PLEASE don't shove anything up my ass! I like my ass!"

"I like your ass too!" said the three-piece suited guy, who was walking by.

Silence.

Then Nick started laughing his head off, dropping Joker, with his knees buckling, desperately trying not to fall over laughing.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaaa! WOOP! HA-HA-HA! Aw, MAN! Ha-ha-ha-ha! Aw, I wish I'd recorded that! Ha-ha-ha!"

The kid tapped his foot. "Hey, are you finished?"

"Ha-ha-haaa!"

Black Joker decided to take his leave, and ran for it. The kid waited patiently for Nick to finish, and finish he did. Nick wiped a happy tear from his eye, and smiled. "Okay, I'm good now. I'd better get going." The kid rolled his eyes. "Are you sure you're a superhero? More importantly, are you sure you can save Sylvia?"

Nick grinned and gave the kid a thumbs up. "Course I can do it! I'm Dynamic Nick, after all! Just you wait! I'm gonna come flying into your city, with Sylvia in hand and King Blue in tow! You can quote it! You can write it down, in fact."

"I think I will." Said the three-piece suit man, whose name was Jack.

Nick raised his eyebrow. "Okaaaaay…hey, kid…what's your name?" "Cory." "Hmm…Cory. Nice name."

Nick soon returned to Six Majin, and got back into the cockpit. "Okay, Six Majin! I found out where King Blue is, and that he's kidnapped Sylvia. Let's go bring her back, and teach the big bully a lesson! Whaddya say?"

"Hell yeah!" Six Majin said, punching the air. Nick took the robot to the sky, and it zoomed off, heading for the east.

"The big asshole's sleeping near the mountain range in the east. How long until we reach it?"

"Half an hour." "All right. I'll check to see if there's anything good on the radio."

Nick turned the radio on, and suddenly a DJ got on the air.

"Hey-hey-hey, all my homeys! It's DJ Danny here, bringing you more of the songs YOU picked to play at dubya dubya dubywa dot DJTunes dot com! Thanks to all who took part in my survey! Now here's the second highest rated song that you picked, "American Pie" by Don Mclean! Let's rock with this classic tune!"

"Oh, Don Mclean! This guy is GREAT!" "Indeed. Shall I turn the volume of the music up?" "Blast away, Six Majin!"

A long, long, time ago… 

_I can still remember how that music…used to make me smile. _

_And I knew if I had my chance…that I could make those people dance and maybe they'd be happy for a while!_

_But February made me shiver…with every paper I'd deliver!_

_Bad news on the doorstep…_

_I couldn't take one more step!_

_I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride…_

_Something touched me deeeep inside…_

_The day…_

_The music…_

_Died._

_So bye, bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry! And them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing "This'll be the day that I die…this'll be the day that I die!"_

_Did you write the book of love, and do you have faith in God above?_

_If the Bible tells you so!_

_Oh, do you believe in Rock and Roll, can music save your mortal soul and can you teach me how to dance real sloooow?…_

_Well I know that you're in love with him, cuz I saw you dancin' in the gym…_

_You both kicked off your shoes…man I dig those rhythm and bluuuues, I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck, with a pink carnation and a pickup truck…but I knew I was outta luck the day…the muuusic died!_

_I started singing, bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry! And them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing "This'll be the day that I die…this'll be the day that I die!"_

_Now for ten years we've been on our own and moss grows fat on a rolling stone, but…that's not how it used to be! _

_When the Jester sang for the King and Queen in a coat be borrowed from James Dean and a voice…that came from…you and meeeeeeee…_

_Oh and while the King was looking dooowwn…the Jester stole his thorny crown! _

_The courtroom was adjourned…_

_No verdict was retuuurned!_

_And while Lenin read a book on Marx…the quartet practiced in the park…_

_And we sang dirges in the dark the day…the muuusic died!_

_We were singing, bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry! And them good ol' boys were drinking whiskey and rye, singing "This'll be the day that I die…this'll be the day that I die!"_

Nick punched the air. "BITCHING!" he shouted. "I just love hearing songs like this."

"Sir…" "What, Six Majin?" "King Blue…is coming to US." "What?" "He's coming towards us, sir! At 140…150 miles an hour!" "Aw shit!" Nick switched the radio off, silently mourning that he couldn't hear the end of the song. "Battle Stations! I've gotta get ready! When will he be here?" "In five minutes! Sit back, sir!"

Nick did, and suddenly a large hatch opened in the back of the cockpit. Nick, still in the chair, slid on through, and onto a platform. Nick stood up, and a robotic arm pulled of the chair, and it vanished into the machinery. "Transform, sir." Six Majin said.

"Okay…TIME TO **ROCK!** HENSHIN!" Now in full dynamic attire, he stood on the glowing white platform. "Now what?" "Now please say "Initiate Integration Program, Six Majin" sir!" "Okay. Initiate Integration Program, Six Majin!" Nick shouted.

The robotic arm suddenly shot out, and it grabbed onto Nick's v-watch. It beeped, and then in a bright flash of light, it drew back into the machinery. "All set sir! Your movements are mine now. Control me. Fight King Blue like you normally would." "Cool!" "Yes. My integration program fully bonded with your v-watch, and now we fight as one. King Blue is almost here! Get ready!"

A huge screen popped up in front of Nick, and he saw an approaching figure, zooming through the air, towards him and Six Majin.

(Okay, now that Nick and Six Majin are fighting as one, I'm treating them as one until I say so.)

He had white hair, including a demonic goatee, and a large crown with a regal blue suit that had golden buttons and a golden belt. He wore fancy black boots, and had frilly pants and a frilly suit. His eye, the one that wasn't covered in white hair, was glowing red, and he had sharp teeth. He had white gloves, and a huge potbelly. He wore a large, blue robe on his back, and he was ENORMOUS, as big as Six Majin. He was King Blue.

He didn't collide with Nick, though. He instead stopped in the air, and hovered in the air, chuckling, his big robe flapping in the air.

"So YOU are Dynamic Nick, are you? And I see you have Six Majin. Those damn two brothers! They let you have the robot!" "Well not really. I had to fight for it, but they really don't like your master's cause. Who IS your master, anyway?"

King Blue chuckled, his laughter echoing across the large field that they were fighting on. "You think I'd tell YOU? I am the all-powerful King Blue! I'll destroy you! I won't tell you my master's name, or his plans! Not even as a departing gift to hell." "Hey, I'm a superhero who likes helping others. If anyone here is going to hell, it's you. How are you even ALIVE, anyway? Weren't you just a part of Captain Blue?"

King Blue stroked his goatee. "True…true. I WAS a part of Captain Blue. But they all thought that when Viewtiful Joe defeated Captain Blue, he exorcised me from the old fool's soul. But he didn't. I survived in the void, and I was pulled back by an invincible warrior…my current master! My master will annihilate all who stand in his way!"

"Yeah, yeah. I don't really care about that. Let's move on. Where's Sylvia?"

"WHADDYA MEAN, YOU DON'T CARE!" King Blue boomed, hopping mad. "You're supposed to be a ally of Viewtiful Joe! You're a superhero! Don't just say "I don't care" about my master's grand plans! A hero should care a LOT about an evil mastermind's plans! That's just how it works!" "Well a traditional superhero I'm not. Now either tell me where Sylvia is, or my foot gets to know your big, fat ass."

King Blue bellowed with anger, raising his fists to the sky. "How dare you threaten me! I am King Blue! I will not fall to a child! Prepare yourself, foolish mortal! I will erase you from this existence! What do you think of THAT?"

"Okay, I'm bored. You're not gonna tell me where Sylvia is, so I'll just beat it out of you. I'm tired of waisting time dealing with third-rate villains like yourself."

That did it.

"Third rate? THIRD RATE? **THIRD RAAAAATE!** HOW DARE YOU! I WILL WIPE YOU OUT, YOU INSOLENT LITTLE BRAT!"

He touched a large jewel on his crown, and it sunk into the crown. Music began to play.

"Let's "get it started", you brat."

"Bring it, tubby!"

**BGM: The Omnipotent (Omnipotent Emperor King Blue's Theme)**

Nick cracked his knuckles. The robot did the same. Then he rushed at King Blue, fist drawn back. King Blue leapt into the air, over Nick.

"Grrr!" Nick growled, and Six Majin leapt into the air after King Blue, striking out with his leg. "KIYAH!" Nick said, and Six Majin kicked King Blue right in the stomach. The evil monster groaned, but then grinned. "That won't stop me one bit!" He grabbed the robot's leg and swung him around and around and around! Nick hollered and screamed, and then King Blue let go. Six Majin went flying through the air, landing hard on the ground and sliding to a halt.

Nick staggered up.

"Okay, no more mister nice guy!"

"I agree! Take THIS!" King Blue leapt into the air, and snapped his fingers. Blue streaks of lightning shot down from the heavens, all around Nick, who twirled around, looking this way and that as each bolt struck hard. "What the? Darn it! How did I beat him in the game?" Nick thought. "Hmm…it was super hard to avoid the lightning strikes. Wait…I remember how I did it…I ran!"

And run Nick did! He activated MACH SPEED, and ran for his life, in circles, dodging the lightning strikes. King Blue frowned angrily. "What? No matter. Take THIS!"

He snapped his fingers again, and this time five bolts of lightning struck right to Nick's left. Nick yelped, and ran, but he didn't activate MACH SPEED in time, and lightning struck him, coursing through his body, and causing him to convulse and scream. He hit the ground hard, panting. "Ugh…hurts…gotta…gotta win…can't lose to a fat old fart! CAN'T LOSE!"

He stood up, growling. "That won't stop me!" he shouted. He jumped into the air. "SLOW!" he shouted. He flew towards King Blue, fist flying forward…

KA-THWOCK!

It slammed into King Blue's cheek, and teeth went flying as the evil being's head snapped to the left. Nick followed up with a punch right to the guts, and King Blue let out a "WOOOUGH!", falling to the ground, curled up slightly. Nick touched down, and cracked his knuckles. "Ready for another round?"

"I'm just getting started!" King Blue shouted. He leapt into the air again, and clapped his hands. Nick suddenly heard…something…something with a jet engine…

A missile! Oops, sorry. Make that plural case. MANY missiles! All headed in his direction. Luckily Nick had SLOW. He activated it, rushing at the approaching missile and grabbing it, turning it around with all of his strength.

"Let's…see…oof…how you like…a missile up your big, fat, old, wrinkled ASS!" He heaved the missile at King Blue, who's eyes widened. He turned to run…

KA-BLOOOEY!

King Blue went flying through the air, landing face first in the field, creating a huge crater. He groaned softly, and Nick grinned. "Now, ready to tell me where Sylvia is?"

"You'll never win! I still have one last trick!"

King Blue slowly staggered up, and he raised one hand to the sky. Suddenly a large golden scepter with many jewels adorning it fell into his open palm, and he laughed. "Now…feel my power!"

He rushed at Nick, throwing the staff. It struck Nick right in the shoulder, and it nearly went right through it. Nick screamed, and yanked it out. He staggered back, grabbing his shoulder, which hurt like hell, blood seeping from the wound. King Blue raised his hand, and the scepter came flying back. He rushed at Nick, and before the kid could react, King Blue had slammed the scepter into Nick's head, and Nick went tumbling down.

King Blue then proceeded to strike Nick on the chest over and over with his scepter, laughing every time it whacked him. Nick screamed in pain, and tried to stand up, but King Blue was sitting on top of him, and the jerk was REALLY heavy. Nick growled, trying to stand up all the same…but he couldn't.

"I've failed…" he thought. "I failed Sylvia, I failed Joe, I failed Blue…and most of all, I failed my family and my best friend…"

Then Six Majin spoke. "NICK!"

Nick gasped. "What?"

"Don't give in! Remember…you are the next hero! You can do it!"

"You…you think so?"

"I KNOW so."

"Six Majin…you rock! HERE…WE…GOOOOO!"

Nick screamed with a guttural roar, his heart screaming for justice. He shoved King Blue off of him, and he arched his fist back.

"HAVE A TASTE OF THIS, KING BLUE…TAKE THIS! SLOW! REPLAY! RED HOT ONE HUNDRED, TIMES **THREE**!"

He rushed forward, and King Blue tried to deflect the attack with his scepter, but the punch sailed through it, snapping it like a twig. Nick's fist struck King Blue right in the face, and then…

Once! Twice! Thrice!

King Blue fell to the ground, mouth and face bloodied. He gurgled, and then was still. Nick sighed, leaning on his knees. "Hoo…that…was tough."

(Music ends.)

"Nick!" a small voice spoke.

Nick looked around. Nobody…

"Down here! In the crown's jewel! The blue one!"

Nick looked down, crouching to get a closer look. Sure enough, there was Sylvia, imprisoned in a blue crystal! "Get me outta here!" she yelled. "Hold on, hold on." Nick carefully picked the jewel up, and then was surprised to find it fading away! Sylvia was left standing in Nick's hand. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I guess with King Blue dead, his enchantments are fading away. Come on…I have a bit of a vow to keep before we go meet up with the others. Do you mind taking a little detour so that you can wave at your fans?"

Sylvia blushed. "Aw, gee Nick. You and Joe have one thing in common…sometimes you really know how to spoil a girl!"

Nick turned beet red. "Uh…gee…heh…uh…thanks…hoo…"

About half an hour, people in the city saw a huge robot approaching the city, and they quickly stopped whatever it was they were doing. The three-piece suit guy, for example, stopped talking to his buddy Ralph and looked up.

"Hey…that's Sexy Sylvia riding in it's hand with that kid, Dynamic Nick! What's the robot dragging in it's other hand?"

"Hold on…I can't…holy shit! It's King Blue!"

Indeed. Walking through the streets now, Six Majin held out Dynamic Nick and Sexy Sylvia in one hand, and in it's other hand it dragged King Blue's body by the cuff. Nick jumped up and down, waving wildly. "Hey, I told you I'd bring Sylvia back AND King Blue! How do you like me now!"

Sylvia leaned over and kissed him. "Thank you." She whispered. "You were my knight in shining armor today." Nick put his hand up to his cheek, blinking…and then fainted. Sylvia chuckled. "Heh. Yep. He and Joe sure do have a lot in common, alright. I wonder how Joe's doing, anyway…"

From far away, the master of JAGOW fumed, as another form stood to the side, not saying anything but thinking very nasty thoughts.

"That idiot! King Blue has failed…and that means that YOU are the last one left to fight Dynamic Nick, agent Thunder Boy."

Thunder Boy nodded slowly, grinning sadistically.

"I know you think you're powerful…but you must PLAN your attack first. And even then be cautious. And remember…you CANNOT fail. You are the last agent left of JAGOW. Everyone else has either defected or died…and I cannot bring them back until I locate where they stashed their lives."

Thunder Boy nodded. "Yeah, it's a pisser when you die."

"I wouldn't know…" the Master said ominously. "I've never died before…and I never will." The master smiled at this knowledge. "Now go. And don't fail me, or when you get revived I'll rip your tail off."

Thunder Boy immediately snapped to attention and saluted, flying off. The Master began to giggle madly, and then burst into maniacal laughter, which echoed through her lair.

About two doors down, in a huge room, Black Joker was guarding Nick's family. Or rather, not guarding so much as chatting it up.

"Well, my creator never liked me. He deliberately gave me a stupid mustache like this just for laughs. AND my NEW master likes me as much as you'd like getting your toenails pulled out! She just keeps me around for guard duty now. I guess I've got an inferiority complex, you know?"

"Do tell me more." David said, taking out a little notepad from his pocket. "So uh…tell me about your master. What's he like?"

"Uh I'm not sure I should tell you about what my master's like, because it's kind of against the rules to talk about h-"

"Do you want to be spiritually enhanced or not?"

"All right. Apparently my master's got some real baggage. You see, her mother and her father apparently drifted apart, and it really damaged both my master and her sister. They got a divorce soon afterward, and my master's mother got the kids. Then…"

**Author's Note: **

**Keep on reading and reviewing, please! And yes, you're about to experience two things…the revealing of the identity of JAGOW's boss, and the appearance of Jet and his evil alter ego! Stay Tuned!**


	16. Thunder Boy Strikes Twice!

**I…**

**Oh, forget the dramatic introduction. It's not worth my time. I'm Thunder Boy, nice to meet you, how's your mother, etc, etc…**

**Our master is beginning to panic. He doesn't know what to do about Nick. The kid keeps knocking us down one by one like bowling pins, and worst of all, several members of our force went traitor and teamed UP with that little loser!**

**Including my defective double, Alastor. **

**How I hate him! I hate him with a vengeance! He had all this power, the power that I have now, the power of the UNDERWORLD…and he didn't want it! He said he could beat Nick on his own terms, and not only did he NOT beat Nick…**

**He joined UP with the brat! How fked up is that? Stupid Alastor. I hate him!**

**Well I'm going to finally get my chance to shine. I'm gonna kick that kid's ass, and serve his head on a platter to my master. Let's see how he'll like being headless! And I'll rip out the heart of my stupid double too! I hate, hate, hate, hate HATE him! **

**He's SO going to die! Die a fiery, painful death as I rip him apart with my claws! I'm gonna rip his head off and st down his throat and then stick my hooves right up his ass, I wonder how he'll like that! I HATE HIM!  
**

**Did I mention that I hate him? Because I do.**

**Why are you looking at me like that?  
**

**Don't make me hate you too!**

"This is…uncomfortable." said Sylvia. "Yeah." said Nick.

Since Six Majin couldn't hold TWO people at the same time, Sylvia had to sit on Nick's lap. Normally a hormone-addled teenager would have been all "a hot chick's on my lap, huh-huh-huh!"

Nick, however, had reminded himself that she was a fiancé of Joe, and furthermore that he wanted to save himself for marriage.

Still, there were temptations.

Inside his head, a deadly battle raged.

"Do her! Do her!" screeched his Lust.

"Hug her, kiss her, squeeze her till her arms fall out!" shouted his Immaturity.

"Save consummation for the time when thoust are done with the act of holy wedlock!" begged Faith.

"If you even touch her _leg_, Joe will kick your ass." reasoned Reason.

"Dude, you need to take a good look at yourself! You're **dreaming** about **doing** it with a **VIDEO GAME CHARACTER!**" howled Self-Awareness.

"You should _not_ steal a man's woman!" shouted Chivalry.

"I wonder what Joe would do to you if you said "I did it with Sylvia…" mused Imagination.

"You deserve a break! Besides, she's not married to Joe YET!" screamed Greed.

Nick, who was in the middle of all of this, groaned in annoyance. What was he going to do?

Luckily it happened. Sylvia got a call on her cell phone.

"Hello? Oh, Joe! Hi, sweetie! Is Daddy there with you…what? Someone's been following you all around? Well did you get a good look at-ALASTOR? That's impossible! Alastor's a good guy! Why would he be-huh? Joe, is someone banging on your door? You're going to go check it? No, no, don't hang up on me Joe, don't hang-he hung up on me. Oh my. I hope he's okay…" Sylvia's eyes were clouded with worry. Would Joe be okay?

Nick looked at her with sympathy…then smiled. "Don't worry. We'll head right over to Movieland Metropolis to go see them." She kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks Nick. You're sweet." "Uh-huh-huh-huh-huh-huh…" He said, cheeks turning even redder than normal. Slyvia frowned to herself. What on Earth was Alastor doing following Joe and her daddy?

Meanwhile, at the big city…at around 6:58 PM…

"Okay, old man. It's come down to this."

"Yes…a TRUE test of strength."

"And lots of people here to see me kick your ass."

"I think it is I who will be doing the ass-kicking."

"So you ready?"

"I was born ready, son."

"I ain't your son yet…gee, kinda feels weird, the idea of having you for a dad-in-law."

"I feel the same. Now…let us begin!"

"Right!"

Nobody had been at the door when Joe had answered it, and when nobody kept following them they had begun to relax and so…therefore…they found themselves at Bob's Belly-Burst Buffer!

Both Captain Blue and Joe were standing in front of the buffet, and both had big plates and bigger appetites. Joe rushed forward, diving at some steak and hot sauce. Captain Blue decided to go for the pasta and grabbed some sauce. Then they rushed to a table and began scarfing it down, while others cheered them on. It was a battle of testosterone for sure!

And it was destined to end badly.

"Ha! Gimme more spaghetti!"

"Pass me some dumplings!"

"Hot sauce! I need hot sauce!"

"Would you be so kind as to pass me the salt?"

"Oh sure."

"Thank you. SOMEBODY GET ME SOME CHICKEN!"

"Buffalo Wings, stat!"

"Somebody get them some sodas!"

"Joe I wanna have your bab-"

"BUUUUUURP!"

"Woah, feelin' funny here…"

"I feel straaaaange…"

Precisely forty eight minutes later, both Captain Blue and Joe were stretched out on the floor, hands on their upset stomachs, ready to puke. Captain Blue's pot belly was now a CAULDRON belly, and Joe's cheeks were still filled with buffalo wings and extra sauce.

"I think we ate too much…"

"Bathroom!"

A few minutes later, both of them went into the bathroom, and half an hour later they left it…

To return to a scene of utter chaos and destruction.

There were broken tables, shattered glasses and plates, food was strewn everywhere and, most horrifyingly of all, BLOOD everywhere. There were dozens of dead bodies inside the buffet restaurant. Everyone had not only been slaughtered, they'd been TOTALLY slaughtered. Overkill.

And the lights were out…and it was getting dark, very dark, outside.

"What…what on Earth HAPPENED here?" Joe asked.

Blue looked up. He screamed, running backwards and falling onto a pool of blood. He pointed up.

There, in bloody letters…

"YOU'RE NEXT. AND YOU'RE DEAD."

Joe looked at the message and suddenly felt even sicker than before. He ran to the bathroom and vomited into the toilet.

Blue however, tried to calm down. He went to get a glass of water and decided against it when he saw what had happened in the KITCHEN.

Meanwhile, Nick and Slyvia had arrived at the city, which was oddly quiet. They walked down the sidewalk, talking.

"You see, Nick, there's a common mistake everyone makes about the v-watch." "What's the mistake?" "Well, it doesn't just turn any ordinary joe into a superhero." "Well then what does it do?" "You haven't figured it out?" "Uh...well...does it have to do with unleashed potential?" "Right! There are heroes in all of us. The v-watch simply lets the hero within a person out. Sometimes it's strong, and sometimes it's weak, but usually all people have heroes in them...unless they've got VILLAINS inside." "Yeah, I know a few people like that. So my v-watch brings out the hero in me...sweet! Wait until I tell my brother, he'll be all...hey, how come we haven't encountered anyone?"

Nick and Sylvia started looking around.

"This is weird. Shouldn't the city be more bustling this time of night? It's only 8:00!" "…something's wrong. Really wrong." "How so?" "Nick, Movieland has certain…certain…THINGS…in it…that kinda occur from time to time." "What do you mean?" "Movieland is generally an action-adventure with comedy/romance stuff type of place…but occasionally it happens." "What?" "The Sci-fi/Horror night." "The what now?" "The Sci-fi/Horror night. On one night, every couple of weeks, Movieland's creatures of the dark and scary realm of Sci-fi and Horror come out. They only get one real shot."

"What exactly happens when they come out?"

Nick almost said that. But he'd watched enough Horror movies and seen enough Sci-fi flicks on TV to know the answer. Bad shit happens. REALLY bad shit.

But if that was true, then…

Then maybe…

"Sylvia…"

"Yeah?"

"If tonight is a night of demons and monsters…then I think I know who's REALLY been following Joe and Blue."

"Who?"

"Thunder Boy." Nick said running as fast as he could, dragging Sylvia by her arm. "OW! Nick!" "We gotta find them! They're in HUGE danger!" "What do you mean? Who's Thunder Boy?" "You didn't meet him, right. I forgot. Only Alastor did. Look, Thunder Boy's Alastor's double! And since Alastor is GOOD…"

Sylvia suddenly understood. She ran alongside Nick, huffing and puffing. "Sylvia, call them, fast! We gotta warn them!" "Alright, alright!" Sylvia reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. It rang and rang…but Joe didn't pick up. "Oh no!" "Relax, I'm sure they're okay…I think…I hope. Anyway, if I learned ANYTHING from watching science fiction and horror movies, it's that you gotta stick together and keep a cool head!" "You sure seem sure of yourself." "I think if I was ever in a horror movie, I'd NEVER do the dumb things the heroes do in them. I mean, like leaving doors unlocked, or picking up the phone, or not ARMING yourself when there's a killer after you…they main characters are usually so DUMB! Honestly! But I'm sure Joe and Blue are smart enough to escape, don't worry."

Back at the restaurant, Joe and Blue were trapped in the bathroom. The toilets were overflowing…with blood. The Sci-fi/Horror night was well underway…and the doors were locked. Joe jiggled the handle. He tired to kick it down. Nothing. He tugged at his hair, panting heavily. Captain Blue looked around for someway, ANYWAY, to get out.

"Like, we're TOAST, man! We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna diiiiiie…"

Blue suddenly pointed up at the ceiling. "A vent shaft!" Joe immediately hopped onto Blue's shoulders, and they made their way through the flooding blood to the vent. Joe pulled it off and crawled inside. Then he lowered his hand. "Grab my hand!" Blue jumped up and grabbed it. "WOAAAAGGGHHH!"

They both fell back down. "Darn it! You're too damn-" "You'd better not say another word."

Meanwhile, outside, Thunder Boy stood by the bathroom door, calmly waiting. However, he'd undergone a few…changes…recently…and he was anxious to tear Joe and Blue and Slyvia apart himself. So he hoped that they'd hurry up and get out.

At that very moment, it happened. Joe and Blue rammed the door with both their bodies and it broke down. They landed on the door and the blood washed out, flooding the main buffet room, and sending them washing down a cascading flood of blood out the door and into the street, where Sylvia and Nick were. Slyvia saw the blood and screamed. Nick immediately rushed over and picked Blue and Joe up, trying to keep calm. "You guys alright?" He asked them.

"We…we will be."

"Oh WILL you now?"

Everyone turned and looked at Thunder Boy. He looked exactly like Alastor, just like Nick had said. "Back off, Thunder Boy, or I'll give you the beat-down of your life!" Nick said, raising a fist. Thunder Boy smirked. "Idiot." He snapped his fingers.

Suddenly a huge hoard of zombies burst from the dry cleaning building opposite the buffet. Slyvia screamed and jumped into Joe's arms. Blue gulped. Nick growled and looked at Thunder Boy. "How on Earth did you…" "Helloooo? It's the night where bad guys like ME have all the power! Just like in a horror movie." "Yeah, well the good guys will usually win, even IN horror and sci-fi movies!" "USUALLY. But not always. This is one of those times, stupid brat." "Put your money were your big mouth is!" "I have. What about YOU?"

Nick grinned. "Okay, you wanna see my moves?" He posed. "TIME TO **ROCK! HENSHIN!" **Transforming once more, he turned to face the zombies, rushing at them with MACH SPEED. "Ki-yaaaaaaaaaaah!" Nick said as he flew through the air, feet bashing into zombie heads and guts. Blue, Slvyia and Joe cowered behind a trashcan while Nick delivered a can of whop-ass. Finally the zombies were all gone. "Okay guys, lets…wait, why didn't you help me?" They gulped. "Guys, what is your…wait…"

Nick suddenly understood. "Of COURSE! You guys are denziens of Movieland! But I'm NOT! I don't follow the rules of Movieland, so I don't follow the standards of movies as well! Like Horror movies! And in Horror movies, most of the main characters don't do anything to stop the bad guys! Only the true hero…and that's ME, the one who's not a member of Movieland!" "Clever. Very clever." Thunder Boy spat, growling angrily. "It also has to do with your naturally resistant nature as well, I believe. In any case, I'm gonna destroy you the old fashioned way…"

Thunder Boy grinned manically and raised his hands. Suddenly purple/black lightning struck him, and dust kicked up everywhere. Nick shielded his eyes, and then gasped.

Thunder Boy had become a demon. His red eyes blazed with inhuman ferocity. He had HUGE fierce claws, razor sharp teeth, a pig-like snout, ram's horns and hoofed feet. Not to mention that his tail was furrier. His armor had become darker, and his helmet had been shattered, and his head was COVERED in bristly, dark fur. He looked really freaky.

"You look like a total freak-a-leek." "Freak-a-leek?" "Like it? I just made it up." "Whatever. Gaze upon my awesome power!" "I'm gazing at something, but it ain't your power, it's your dumb-ass nose!" "WHY YOU…" "And all that HAIR! Geez, ever heard of a haircut!" "Stop it! You're supposed to be afraid of me! That's how it works, dammit!" "I don't follow THAT kind of script. I improvise, dumb-ass!"

Thunder Boy sneered. "Well you'll still DIE." He pressed a button on his demonic-looking belt, and music started up.

**BGM: Underworld Emperor (Demon Lord Alastor's Theme)**

Great, even your MUSIC is a rip-off of Alastor." "I ain't Alastor…" He suddenly shot into the air on his now HUGE bat wings and raced at Nick. "I'm my own class act!" His claws tore through the air, but not at Nick, who ducked out of the way, and grinned. "Nice try…but really it's about "do or do not, for there is no try", Thunder Boy."

"Now I am the Underworld Emperor, brat!" "Being more dramatic and having a freaky costume doesn't mean anything unless you have the moves to-"

"Muuuhhhhhhhh…"

"What the?"

Nick looked behind him. An even bigger, far more HUGE horde of zombies were advancing towards him and his viewtiful pals. "I HATE zombie flicks!" "Have you ever seen one?" "A bit of Resident Evil. Anyway…MACH SPEED!"

Nick ran towards Sylvia, Joe and Blue and told them "We gotta go! NOW!" "Suh-suh-sure! All right!" They took off, but Thunder Boy blocked the way. "And who said you guys could leave!" He asked, snarling. "I DID!" Nick shouted, rushing forward with SLOW and MACH SPEED. His fist collided with Thunder Boy's cheek, and the evil demon flew through the air, snarling angrily as he put his hand to his sore cheek. His REALLY sore cheek. Okay, his nearly BROKEN cheek.

"Why you…" "Upstart, uncouth youth?" "Where do you come UP with this stuff?" "I got a lot of free time, freak-a-leek! MACH SPEED!" Nick jumped up towards Thunder Boy, but Thunder Boy flapped to the side, pointing his claws at Nick. "AIR RAID!" He shouted. Black thunder shot from his hand, and it struck Nick's side. Nick screamed and fell to the ground, groaning. Meanwhile, the zombies advanced further as Joe, Blue and Sylvia ran down the street. "I HATE this night!" "Maybe…we…should…stay and fight!" "Without our v-watches, we're helpless, Sylvia!"

But Sylvia had an idea. She stopped immediately and grabbed Blue and Joe, looking them right in the eye with a resolute face. "Nick said that ordinary people make it through horror and sci-fi movies all the time…so we can do it too!" "How?" "What works against zombies in the horror flicks?" "Guns?" "Flamethrowers?" "Right! Fire! Burns them right up!" "Well we don't have any…"

Joe looked to his left and saw a gas station. "Oh…OH! I get it! That's my girl, always using her big head!" "Hmph!" "I meant that in the good way!" "As much as I'd love to hear you talk about my intellect Joe, we've got a job to do. Come on! Grab a gas hose and start spraying, or grab a gas tank and start pouring, fast!" "Wait…you got a match?"

Sylvia suddenly stiffened. She could hear the zombies coming closer. "Aw, damn." She said. "I KNEW I forgot something." Joe suddenly snapped his fingers. "Wait…can't Nick do something?"

As it were, Nick WAS doing something…he was getting his butt handed to him! Thunder Boy was just plain faster than he was, and every time Nick got close, Thunder Boy summoned up lighning to strike Nick! So Nick was now running in zig-zag motions, trying to keep far away from Thunder Boy's new technique…freakishly deadly-looking swords that flew at him!

"Dance, punk! Dance!"

"Naw, I'm not too good at dancing…"

A sword whizzed by Nick, and…Aw man! It got his cape! Nick was stuck to the road, his cape impaled by the sword! "Motherf-"

Nick didn't get to finish the insult. A bolt of lightning struck him and he fell to the ground, groaning. Thunder Boy began cackling madly. The zombies kept advancing, slow by steady. Joe, Sylvia and Blue ran over to Nick and shook him madly. "Nick, get up! We need you!" "Ughuh…my heeeaaaad…" "Forget your head! Can you use mach speed to get a flaming aura up?" "Uh…yeaaaah…got any asprin?" "I'll buy you a triple pack if you GET YOUR LAZY ASS UP, NICHOLAS MICHAEL GREY!" Sylvia shouted. Nick immediately hopped up and saluted. "Sir, yes sir!" He said, wide awake.

Nick used MACH SPEED to run over to a telephone pole and began to whack it over and over…a few moments later his hands were on fire…and after a bit of running so was his whole body! "I'm on FIRE!" Nick wisecracked. "Zip it! Lead the zombies towards the gas trap we've set!" Sylvia snapped. Nick looked to his right and saw a HUGE line of gasoline on the road ahead. Puddles of gas were scattered around as well. It was almost a lake. "What a tragic waste." Nick almost said, but he squashed the thought and nodded.

He had an idea too.

He looked up at Thunder Boy and stuck his tongue out. "You cheap knock-off of Alastor! Come on down and fight me like a demon! ALASTOR would!" "Shut up! I'm not him!" "You're right…he's BETTER than you!" "SHUT UP!" "You suck, and Alastor doesn't! Face it! You're a rip-off, something stuck into the game by lazy designers looking for a way to boost replay-"

That did it.

"I'LL KILL YOU YOU LOUSY FK OF A DN BRAT!" Thunder Boy shot towards Nick, who used MACH SPEED to run towards the gasoline. He jumped over it, and Thunder Boy tackled him…then drew back, hollering. Nick was still on fire! The zombies were now within inches of the trap…

Thunder Boy wouldn't give up though. He shot more lighting at Nick, who danced out of the way, sticking his tongue out at the demon. "Man! Your body odor is as bad as your aim, you know that, right?" "I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" "Do you only speak in monosyllables now?" "KILL YOU DEAD!" "I'll take that as a whopping "yes" then." "I'LL RIP OUT YOUR HEART AND CRAP IN YOUR MOUTH AND STICK MY FOOT SO FAR UP YOUR-"

But before things could get M rated, Nick grinned and SHOVED Thunder Boy as the demon advanced on him, transfering some flames to Thunder Boy's hair arms and his neck. Thunder Boy fell back, trying to beat out the flames on his neck…

He fell into the zombies, past them, down…

He didn't notice the smell until it was far too late. He hit the gasoline.

FWOOOOOSSSSHH! KAFWOOOM!

Zombies and demon went up in flames. Thunder Boy screamed over and over and then exploded in a blast of brimstone and black blood. Nick turned away, and walked off, not wanting to see zombies burning. Joe, Silvia and Blue were sitting on the curb of the street, and patted Nick on the back as he transformed back to his normal clothes. "Nice job, Nick." "No biggie." Nick said. "No, that was really something!" "No biggie, really!"

Then at that moment, it happened. A huge portal opened up. A man with fiery red hair that spiked up stepped through. He had a fairly big nose, a white shirt, a black vest, and a big smile. He gave the "sweet" symbol to Joe and the others. "Hey there, everyone! Uh, I don't know exactly how to say this, but…am I late to da party?" "Dad?" "Daddy-in-law?" "Jet?"

Nick blinked. "Uh…so, is this Joe's dad, Jet?" "Oh, youse must be Nick." Jet extended his hand. "House it goin'?" "Uh…hi. This is a surprise. Um…how did you get here?" Jet grinned. "I was hoping youse was gonna ask me that. Lemme explain…"

Meanwhile, watching from a nearby building…

"That stupid kid has ruined every single one of my plans…AND he's creamed every single one of my warriors!…wait…if Jet has come here…then that means I can finally…hee hee…ha ha…HA HA HA HA HA!"

**Author's Note:**

**Yep! Jet's on the scene, and his dark hero side is soon to follow! But it gets better! Soon I will unveil the identity of the master of JAGOW, and a major ally of Dynamic Nick is going to die! That's right…DIE. And it's gonna be a real climax, all right. Just wait…and don't forget to review after you've read my story, please!**


	17. Das Dunkel Kaiser Anstrum Held

**So…it has all come down to this.**

**My master saw that Jet arrived and immediately began the necessary steps to release me.**

**I can already feel my blood boiling…I feel so ALIVE! Soon I will be free to destroy the ones that ruined me before…**

**Viewtiful Joe and Sexy Sylvia! And that stupid kid Nick is going to die as well!**

**What's that?**

**You wish to know my name?**

**Isn't it obvious?**

**I am…**

"So that's my story. Pretty heavy stuff, huh?" "Yeah, no kidding."

Alastor, Rachel, Cameo Leon, Nick, Sylvia, Joe, Jet and Blue were all sitting in the park now. Alastor and the others had arrived about ten minutes after Jet had, and now they were all taking a little breather. Jet introduced himself to Nick, who was very happy to meet Joe's dad.

"So what was he like as a kid?"

"Like he is now."

"Oh really?"

"Only a whole lot more hyper, if yaknowhaddamean."

"Yeah, Iknowhadyamean."

"Guuuuuuys! Quit it!"

"Don't blame me, toots. It's da Brooklyn accent."

BANG! And Jet was down on the ground, nursing a big bump on his head. Sylvia's brows were furrowed in anger, and her fist was shaking.

"Don't call me "toots"!"

Nick chuckled. "Well, I can't believe that I managed to beat Thunder Boy. Of course, you guys were the ones that had the brilliant gas idea." "Like, don't worry, dude. We TOTALLY had it covered." "Joe, when are ya gonna quit it with all dat dumb punk talk?" "Daaaaad! Don't embarrass me in front of Sylvia and Blue! And especially not in front of Nick!" "What about us?" Alastor asked, feeling left out. "Um…well, I get embarrassed in front of you guys all the time, so…" "Gee, should we take that as a compliment or an insult?" Cameo Leon asked.

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Why do you care what Joe says?" "He's gotta stop being a man-boy…and he's gotta become a MAN." "But he's getting MARRIED. That's a passage into manhood if there ever was one, right?" "Not really, kid. You gots a lot to learn." "Dad, quit it!" "Joe still plays video games!" "So?" "And he STILL watches dem Saturday morning cartoons!" "So!" "AND he doesn't even gotta REAL job yet!" "Hey, being a superhero is a full-time occupation for me, Dad!" "You can't live on hand-outs from grateful people forever, kid!"

Nick was getting a little bit…annoyed…by Jet's attitude. Joe did a whole lot of good as Viewtiful Joe, and was getting MARRIED…but all Jet could seem to focus on was Joe's home habits!

"Why is he making this a big deal?" Nick thought.

"Why, when I was yer age, I had already had TWO jobs! I met Blue on one of dem!" "Where?" "I worked at a movie theater dat I ended up OWNING later on." "Oh, cool!" "Yep! I was da Snack Stand guy." "Awesome, dad!" Nick thought that being a snack stand guy was indeed a nice job for a teen…

"And I had different jobs at that movie theater fer 11 years, ever since I wuz 18!"

Okay. That means he'd been working there till he was 29! A college kid, becoming a man in his prime, STILL in a movie theater outfit? That wasn't really…that was kinda…

"Why did YOU not get a "real job"?" Rachel asked. "Phew." Nick thought. Thank God for the robot that said the embarrassing thing before he did!

Jet turned on her, brows furrowed. "Hey! It was a big job fer me! I love da movies! And it wuz because I was working at dat theater for so long dat I got a managerial position…and then after dat, I ended up SAVING da owner of the theater from choking on a malted milk ball! He was so grateful dat he said dat I would get to own da movie theater if he died…right after Charlie Boy." "Charlie Boy?" "Charlie Boy was da manager's own son. He was a real young kid, only 8. He woulda ended up owning the theater too, but…" "But what?"

Jet looked down at the ground, not answering the question. "It…uh…you see, the thing is…uh…gee, this is hard to say…"

Nick suddenly got a chill.

"Something bad happened to Charlie, didn't it?"

"His mom took him away. Divorce. Never saw the kid again…and the father was so angry at both da wife and his kid, that he took dem outta the will…I became his like, uh…what's da term? Oh yeah, surrogate son or somethin'. So I got the theater…and later met Blue!"

Blue smiled nervously. "I was in line to see a Cheech and Chong movie. I went in and sat down with my daughter, and guess who was there sitting next to me?"

Nick snapped his fingers. "Joe and Jet, right?" "Yes! He said that he loved the movie so much, he'd seen it five times. I asked him how he could afford to, and he said…and I quote, "Well, I ownz da theater, see?"."

Everyone broke into tremendous laughter. Even Rachel, whose laughter was mechanical and oddly freaky. Nick laughed so hard his knees buckled and he was still laughing even after everyone else had stopped. Finally he stopped, wheezing. "Oh, it huuuurts…" Nick said.

"But anyway son, da point's this…I had jobs by the time I was your age. Being a superhero…well, it don't pay the bills! Money's needed if ya want a good future!" "Dad, we have a plan. Sylvia and I, once we get married, we're gonna get part-time jobs each, and then we'll divide up the week! Sylvia will get Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and I'll get Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays! And on Holidays, we'll both go save the world…"

"Son, what jobs are ya planning on getting'? Ya can't go putting down "Pro superhero" on a resume, you'll get laughed at!" "Dad, everyone in Movieland…"

Nick was getting sick of the arguing. "I need to go for a walk." He said quickly, getting up. Jet pointed at him. "You tink about what I said, kid!" "Oh I will." Nick said. He walked off, into the park. "I will…"

**BGM: Daugerrero, the Hermit's Library (Piano Version), by Nobou Uematsu**

_What if…what if he's right?_

_What if the stuff Joe's doing IS childish?_

_What if Joe really does need to grow up?_

_Does that mean giving up the stuff he enjoys? _

_Does that mean less time being a hero?_

_Where do being a kid and being an adult meet? When does one end and the other begin?_

_Am I at that point too?_

_Here I am, saving Movieland, and look at me. I'm 14 years old and I still watch cartoons, play video games and…and I even write fanfiction!_

_Does that mean I need to grow up?_

_If Joe is a man-boy, then…am I a man-boy like Joe? _

Nick sat down under a tree and looked around at the grass and patches of flowers that surrounded him. He sighed.

"Once I grow up, I won't get to do this stuff. I'll be stuck at a job from 9-5, and then taking care of my kids. I won't get to enjoy myself the way a person should be able to. Oh course, maybe I don't know how a person should be able to…well, I think I've got a good enough IDEA."

He sighed and leaned back, resting his head on his hands and lying back, looking up at the shady tree that danced in the breeze. He sighed and looked to his left.

He froze.

There, fluttering in the breeze, was a beautiful Monarch butterfly. It flapped in the gentle breeze, dancing around, left and right, left and right, almost in a waltz of nature. It flapped towards him, and landed right on his chest, looking right at him.

Nick carefully got up, and the butterfly flapped in the air again a few times before landing on Nick's pant leg.

It opened it's wings, showing off it's design. Open. Fold. Open. Fold. Open…fold.

Nick was transfixed to this little thing. He couldn't take his eyes off of it. He'd always loved watching butterflies and the beautiful moths like Luna and Io moths. This Monarch was really nice-looking.

It opened it's wings again…and then slowly closed them. It turned around, looking at him.

Nick was silent, simply staring back. He felt suddenly…content.

As if everything was right in the world, if only for just this brief moment in time.

He felt…as if everything was just…just perfect right now.

At one with all around him.

Not outside of the loop…but PART of it.

The butterfly flapped up to his face and brushed against his nose. Then it flew up, past the tree branches, into the sky, eventually vanishing.

Nick smiled.

"That…that was nice." He said. And with that, he got up and headed back for the others.

(Music ends.)

When he arrived, though…he found something shocking.

Joe and the others were sprawled all over the street. The bench was broken. The road was shattered in random places…and there, towering above everyone, was the Ultra Black Behemoth, the Black Emperor's Robot…Dark Kaiser.

He was dressed in samurai armor, with glowing, pupil-less red eyes and huge black gauntlets. He didn't have a cape, but his boots shook the ground whenever he walked. His armor covered his entire robotic body, and he growled, grinning nastily. His helmet covered his nose and his forehead, but not his eyes, and it's spikes looked VERY sharp. He looked demonic, to tell the truth.

Nick gulped. "Oh boy."

"Well, well, well. Look who finally shows up…just in time to die."

"Dark Kaiser? I thought that…"

"That's the thing. You THOUGHT. But one can NEVER be sure that one's darkness is gone, as Jet's found out. Now that I'M here, I can get rid of you all in one fell stroke, in the name of my master!"

"Who IS your master?"

"Do not think for one second I'd tell you. Now then…"

A huge, black fist slammed next to Nick, who ran for it. "Hah-hah-hah…gotta…find a place to transform…"

Nick ducked into a building and into the bathroom, getting inside a stall. The bathroom was small, but would have to do.

"TIME TO **ROCK! HENSHIN!"**

BANG!

"Owwwwww!" Nick had hit his hand on the celing when he'd jumped up. He went outside of the bathroom and tried again.

"TIME TO **ROCK! HENSHIN!"**

Ta-da! This time the transformation went off without a hitch, and Nick ran back outside, where Dark Kaiser was tearing up the park and road. "Where are you, annoying gnat?"

Nick grinned, and shouted out, **"LET'S RIDE, SIX MACHINE!"**

Six Machine rushed down from the sky, and Nick jumped in it. He and Six Machine rose into the air, and Nick stood up in the seat. "Okay, here I go…" "Are you actually going to try and call Six Majin, fool?" "Well…that's the plan. I don't know if it'll work since it's so far away, but, hey, who knows?"

Nick took a deep breath, and then…

**"LET'S RIDE, SIX MAJIN!"**

**BGM: C'mon, Six Majin! (Six Majin's Theme)**

A tiny twinkle in the sky, and then…

Zooming down from the sky, it came. It soared down, roaring as it whizzed through the air. It landed expertly on the ground, and then Six Machine and Nick rose into the air, flying back down and connecting with Six Majin's "V" helmet. Then Six Majin posed heroically…and Nick grinned.

(Music ends.)

"It's on like Donkey Kong!" He said, rushing towards Dark Kaiser, who grinned, showing off large, robotic fangs. He pressed a button on his helmet, and music started. Nick rushed towards him, fist flying…

**BGM: Ultra Black Behemoth (Ultra Black Emperor Robot Dark Kaiser's Theme)**

BAM!

And Nick was down!

Nick groaned and stood up. (Yes, I'm referring to Nick and Six Majin as one and the same from now on in the fight.)

"What on Earth? How'd you…?"

BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!

Dark Kaiser delivered a painfully accurate set of punches to Nick's face, and he went flying back, groaning in pain. "How the…fine then! MACH SPEED!" Nick rushed forward…

POW! Dark Kaiser knocked Nick into the air, and then leapt up, slamming Nick down with a double-fisted strike. Nick hit the ground hard with a strangled cry, and slowly got up. "Why aren't my moves working?"

"Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Dark Kaiser laughed sadistically. "You puny little robot is not as strong as I! Besides, your moves are slow, and you aren't using it's full potential!" "Huh?" "You got lucky with King Blue. But you're fighting a new type of enemy now! Your robot isn't strong enough as it is to beat ME!"

To prove his point, Dark Kaiser raised his hand, and a huge bolt of purple lighning shot forth, passing through Nick and sending him flying. Dark Kaiser laughed again.

"See? I'm far stronger than you!"

Nick staggered to his knees. "I…I don't know what to do! How am I gonna…how did Joe and Sylvia beat this guy? What did they…"

Then he remembered. They had TEAMED UP.

Oh no. They were all unconscious. Who could he team up with?

(Stop the music!)

Then, slowly, Joe opened his eyes. The other began to groan and stood up.

They could hear someone…something…calling out to them.

"Nick?" Joe whispered.

Nick looked down and saw them moving.

"Guys!" He ran over to them and knelt down. "You're alive! Please, you gotta help me! I don't know how to beat him! You guys beat him by teaming up…"

"Do it on your own steam, kid." Jet said.

"Yes, heh-heh-heh." Dark Kaiser said. "Be a man."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Everyone gasped. Joe was standing up, furious.

"Me and Sylvia beat him by WORKING TOGETHER, Dad. You always did things on your own, always HAD to do things on your own, to prove that you were a man. But to prove it to who? Me? I already thought you were a really cool dad, and the bravest one ever! To your family? They were already proud of you! No, you wanted to prove you could be a man, and that you could be a hero to YOURSELF, because you were always doubting yourself…but me…"

Joe grinned. "I always believed that I was strong enough to be a hero if the chance came, same as Sylvia. THAT'S what made us good heroes. Believing in the hero within."

Sylvia stood up, nodding. Her glasses were broken and her hair was a mess, but she didn't seem to care. "You have to believe too, Nick. Then you'll be a REAL man. Age doesn't matter. A kid can still be responsible and heroic like a "real man" at things…and that includes being a hero. So…go ahead."

"Believe in your inner hero, Nick, and the v-watch will let it out. That's all it does." Blue said, standing up and putting his hands on his sides, looking every bit as heroic as he used to, costume or not.

"You really gonna let a big fat jerk like THAT guy tell you what to be?" Alastor said, jabbing his thumb at Dark Kaiser, giving Nick a wink and a small smile.

"Your heart is strong enough. That's all you need." Rachel said.

Cameo Leon slowly stood up. He looked really bad. He was bleeding all over, and his scales were grimy with blood and dirt, but he grinned, showing off broken teeth. "Don't you dare ever let someone else tell you what you're supposed to be. Don't be a hero just because someone told you to."

"You're right. I want to be a hero because it's what I always wanted. I always wanted to do the right thing…and now I know how! I know how!"

Nick stood up, punching the sky. "COME ON, SIX MAJIN, LET'S RIDE FOR **REAL**!"

**BGM: Six x Six Majin (Solar System Robot Six x Six Majin's Theme)**

Six Majin responded.

Six Machine flew out of Six Majin, as Six Majin flew into the air. The armor flew off, revealing the shiny basic body within. The armor began to change color, and it began to emit a dazzling light, which blinded Dark Kaiser, who screamed as the light burned him. He stepped back, back, trying to get away.

"AARRRGGHHH! That…that light! How!"

Then the armor reformed. There was a CHA-CHOOM, several BANGS and a few SCHOOM noises, and then…

Nick gasped.

"Wow." Sylvia said simply.

A green cape with a gold Polaris star on the back…

Brilliant emerald green armor with silver trimmings…

A green headband/visor with gold decals…

Silver boots and gloves…

A big silver Polaris star was present on his chest as well, with a golden "DN" emblazoned over the star…and a slot opened up from the chest.

"Ha ha!" Nick said. Six Machine connected with the chest insignia, flying into the slot. Nick was now inside Six x Six Majin, and at the controls, which worked just like Six Machine's did.

"Okay!" Nick said. "Let's rock!"

(End Six x Six theme music, begin Dark Kaiser's Theme again.)

Dark Kaiser roared and picked up a huge office building, throwing it at Nick. Nick batted it aside, and rushed forward with MACH SPEED. "Yah-yah-yah-yah-yah!" He said, giving Dark Kaiser the headache of his life as he whacked his helmet over and over and over. Dark Kaiser collapsed on the ground, feeling very sick and dizzy. Nick grinned and gave everyone a thumbs up.

Dark Kaiser got back up quickly though, grabbing Nick's helmet and trying to crush Nick's head…

Dumb.

Using SLOW and ZOOM, Nick pinpointed a single spot on Dark Kaiser…

"Hey Dark Kaiser, what's one plus one?"

"Two." He said, annoyed.

"RIGHT!"

Nick took his pointer and middle finger and jammed them into Dark Kaiser's eyes, "stooging" him. Dark Kaiser let go, stumbling back. Nick used ZOOM and SLOW and rushed forward. "RED HOT ONE HUNDRED…TIMES SIX BY SIX!"

The THUDDA-THUDDA sound that echoed through the city was that of Dark Kaiser's body being pummeled over and over by the Red Hot One Hundred combo, only now delivered with the might of Six x Six Machine. Nick finished it off by delivering an uppercut punch…

AND adding the power of REPLAY to the mix!

Once, twice, thrice! Dark Kaiser soared into the air, roaring. Nick jumped up, and held his hands high in the air.

"KIYAAAAHHH!" He roared, and slammed them both into Dark Kaiser's face.

KA-CRAKA!

Dark Kaiser plummeted towards the ground and collided with it so hard he shook EVERYONE. He didn't even have the strength to groan, and a second later he didn't have any ability to, as Nick delivered a HUGE butt bash to his chest, as Six x Six Majin flew down, butt first, slamming into Dark Kaiser's chest. Dozens of tons of robotic and human fury collided with Dark Kaiser via mechanical butt, and he screamed in horrible pain…

Then his eyes dimmed, and he dissapated into the sky, becoming dark smoke.

Nick stood up, and wafted the smoke away with his hand, giving everyone the "rock on" symbol.

"THAT'S the way you do it!" He said. Everyone cheered.

(Music ends.)

Nick got out of Six x Six Majin, which stood over by the wrecked bench. Everyone swarmed Nick, cheering and lifting him into the air. "Nick! Nick! Nick!" "Yeah, I guess I did it, didn't I?"

Jet walked over to Nick and Joe, looking redder than his hair. "I…uh…owe youse an apology…kids." "I guess so." "Well…maybe I need ta rethink about what being a man and being responsible and all dat means…" Nick nodded."Well you'll have plenty of time to do that later." He rubbed his belly. "Let's go get some dinner. I'm STARVED!" Everyone laughed. "How about cheeseburgers?" Joe suggested.

"I can cook a mean cheeseburger." Cameo Leon suggested. "Okay then, Cameo Leon, you're the cook for tonight!" Sylvia said. "I'll go get some burgers and buns and stuff from the store down the street with Jet." Blue said. "I shall join you." Rachel added. "Me too." Alastor said. "Okay, everyone else, let's go find a spot." Sylvia said.

About half an hour later they came back, and then, another half an hour later, everyone was eating in the park at a table. Nick bit deep into his cheeseburger and started scarfing it down. "Mmm-mmm-mmmmmm! I LOVE cheeseburgers! You ARE a great cook, Cameo Leon!" "I told you I was!" Cameo Leon said. He had a "Kiss the Cook" apron on as he stood in front of one of the park's grills. Nick grinned. "Hey, somebody pass me the fries and some ketchup."

"Joe's got the fries, and he asked for ketchup first." "Here ya go." Alastor said, giving Joe a red bottle labeled "Ketchup". Joe put some on his plate and then jammed a fry into the sauce, then stuffing it into his mouth. "Check it out, 10 at once, dude! I'm like…"

The label for the bottle fell off, revealing the words "Spicy Hot Sauce" underneath.

Nick, sympathetically, held out a bottle of water. "Here, Joe. Start drinking."

And drink he did, while Alastor laughed his head off. "That's one point for me, Joe." He said. "Just you wait!" Joe said in between gulps and gasps. "I'll get you for this!"

"Hello. SNORT."

Nick was in the middle of finishing up a bottle of root beer. When he turned his head and saw what he saw, he spat out A&W all over the grass and over Charles the Third.

Who happened to be with every other villain that he had fought along the way…save for King Blue and Dark Kaiser.

"What the? How the…what? I mean, didn't I? But…but…"

Nick screamed. "AAAA! GUUUUYS! THEY'RE BACK! RUN!"

Another Joe rolled his mechanical eyes. "We're not here to fight. We wanna join you guys. We're all starving, and I'm just bored."

Sylvia looked over at them and nodded. "Okay. There's another table over there, if you drag it over here and connect it with this…"

"Wait-wait-wait!" Nick said. "Those are the BAD GUYS! And I BEAT them! KILLED THEM! HOW are they alive?"

"Oh, we have extra lives."

Silence.

Then…

"What…did…you…say?"

"We have extra lives. Didn't anyone tell you?"

Nick slowly turned to Joe.

"Joe…what are extra lives?" He asked in a "I'm getting more pissed by the second" tone.

"Oh, you gotta buy them from the store like everyone else, and you can only have 20. I've got 18 left, same as Sylvia."

"And we all have 13 left." Dr. Cranken said.

"Except for me and Rachel." Cameo Leon said. "Alastor has 13, like them, because Joe killed him twice, but Rachel only got killed once, and that was by Dr. Cranken, and Joe only killed me once, so I've got 14 and so does Rachel. And you've got…uh…how many lives do you have?"

"How do I find out?" Nick asked, still annoyed.

"Check your v-watch, dude!" Joe said, as if the answer was obvious.

Nick groaned and did so, pressing a few buttons. Finally it displayed…

"Lives…24."

"Wow. You can do beyond the limit."

"I…had…twenty…four…LIVES! I did all that stuff and I could have died at any time and i would have come back! All that time worrying about getting eaten or squashed and I would have been just fine! And all that time I spent worrying about the villains I killed… they were really all right! There was no big deal? I would have been just fine? HOW THE HELL DOES THIS **WORK!**"

"Nick, this is Movieland. Nobody REALLY dies here." Sylvia said.

Nick however, was fuming. "Oh, and I suppose my FAMILY has eighteen something lives too, huh? Is there anything ELSE you guys aren't telling me? It would have HELPED if you had told me this crap before!"

Captain Blue "ah-hemed". "Nick, your family doesn't have extra lives, because they're visitors. You only have them because the v-watch gave them to you. Comes with the package."

Nick buried his face in his hands. "This is too confusing…"

Cameo Leon looked at Nick, not saying anything. Then he held out a plate.

"Wanna 'nother cheeseburger?"

Silence. Then Nick slowly nodded. "Yeah, all right…"

Eventually, everyone settled down, and the villains were all chatting it up, talking about their lives before JADOW or GEDOW or JAGOW.

"I never knew my fatherrrr!" Gran Bruce whined. Charles the Third patted him on the shoulder. "There, there. SNORT. I feel your pain. I didn't…SNORT…know my mother. Dad was a demon, mom was a mortal, you do the…SNORT…math."

"Yeah, well I didn't use to look like _this_!" said Dr. Cranken, pointing at his head. "I used to have the best looks this side of Movieland until I got old…then I tried to do some surgery to make me look younger and…well…I never experimented with squid DNA ever again."

"I never knew either of my parents." Alastor said. "Really?" Hulk said. "I didn't either! Oh, did you know I'm actually a Gemini?" "Man, I can't believe we never bothered to find this stuff out about each other." Another Joe wondered.

"Hey, how come King Blue and Dark Kaiser aren't here?" Nick asked Fire Leo, who was sitting next to Frost Tiger who was sipping a coke. "Well, those guys are actually PART of Blue and Jet, and don't really have their own lives like we do, so…" "And how did Dark Kaiser get made anyway?"

"I made him."

Everyone looked around. A REALLY creepy voice had spoken.

"I made him from the darkness in Jet's soul, same as Blue. It's one of the benefits I have of…well…you'll find out. In the meantime, Dynamic Nick…DIE!"

A laser bolt suddenly shot out. Nick gasped.

KRZAAAAP!

Joe's eyes widened.

"Dude…that…that was…that…"

Blue was horrified, remaining silent in shock.

Nick stared at his friend, who had leapt in front of him to save him from the laser.

Cameo Leon looked down at his chest, which was now pouring blood, ruining the nice "Kiss the Cook" apron that he had had on. Nick looked at Cameo Leon, who looked at him. "What…what just…I feel funny, Nick, really funny…"

Cameo Leon collapsed on the ground, dead. The bolt of laser energy had struck him right through the heart. Everyone gasped. Sylvia screamed. Nick grabbed Cameo Leon, shaking him.

"No…no! Don't you dare…get up! You better not be dead! Come on! Come back to life, now!"

Dr. Cranken ran over to Cameo Leon, checking his pulse. "I do not understand…what on Earth…"

"I just shot down his soul." said the dark, corrupted voice.

Everyone turned toward the owner of the voice voice, which had finally gotten close enough to look at. A person shrouded in shadow gazed out at them. You couldn't tell at all who or what it was, but Nick had the feeling it was a female.

"He cannot come back from the realm of the dead…because his soul has been removed from his body. I shot it into the abyss…where my castle is. You want to get your friend back, and to save your family…"

The Master grinned. "Then follow me." A dark, swirling circular portal of some kind opened up behind her. She stepped backwards, inside, and disappeared. Nick looked around, then at Cameo Leon, whose eyes were still open.

You couldn't close a chameleon's eyes, Nick realized.

"I'm going in." He said, rushing towards the portal. He jumped in.

Everyone stared at it...they didn't move for what seemed to be a long time. And then...

"Then we're coming too."

**Author's Note:  
Well it happened! Cameo Leon has been struck down, trying to save his friend who gave him a shot at redemption. Now Nick's off to save him AND his family, and he knows just where to look...sorta. He's about to enter a deadly final battle, that will take not just all of his heart to win, but the hearts of his friends as well. Can he do it? Probably...but it sure as heck won't be easy! Read and review, because the next chapter's coming up fast! **


	18. The Last Show, pt 1

**For far too long I have been mocked.**

**For far too long I have been insulted.**

**For far too long I have been humiliated.**

**For far too long I have been IGNORED…**

**No more. I could no longer take it.**

**I called together JAGOW after using my powers that I inherited, and with their power and mine, I succeeded in doing what nobody else had EVER done before…finally removing Blue, Sylvia and Joe from the superhero buisiness! **

**But then it all went horribly wrong. That dumb kid, Nicholas Michael Grey, got involved when I asked for a human family as a sacrifice to double my powers, allowing me to expand them to the world HE calls home.**

**I told my men a lot of lies, but I also left out a lot of things. Like I left out the fact that I was planning on killing them as soon as I had the power from the family, and as soon as Nick was dead. But neither has happened. **

**So now I have to do things MY way. **

**I WILL become the only one true hero…no stupid wanna-be is going to stop me! **

**Just he wait…just they ALL wait!**

**You'll see…**

**YOU'LL ALL SEE!**

"Wow, that's quite the sight." Nick said.

It was a huge, ENORMOUS, castle. More interestingly, the castle was located on what appeared to be a huge floating island, and right behind it, a twirling kaleidoscope of colors, an infinite horizon, as if a black hole of colors had taken up residence. It made Nick dizzy just looking at it. And leading up to the island…a long, twisting stairway of colored glass.

Nick ran up the stairway two steps at a time, up to the front door of the black, gold and blue castle. He walked up to the huge double doors and opened them up.

There was a HUGE hallway, and at the side was someone who was obviously a butler. But this wasn't just ANY butler. It was…

"Black Joker?"

"Well look who finally showed up. Welcome to Movieland Castle, home of the Director's power and the apex of Movieland's great resources." "Huh?" "This place has got so much power it's BLEEDING it. The whole place, anything within a fifteen mile radius, is constantly mixing up reality with fantasy, which is weird even FOR Movieland. It used to be harmless, you know, like butterflies turning into doves when you tried to touch one and stuff, but now it's gotten eerie."

"Okaaaay…" "Oh, and your family is somewhere in the castle. The master moved them away herself. If you wanna find them, start looking in the doors." "Something weird behind the doors?" "Well, this IS Movieland Castle. Behind every door is the enterance to the world of a movie, from made-for-TV movies to cult classics to new releases. There's even a few previews rooms, they're located across from every bathroom." "Okay, then. And I don't suppose you know WHERE my family is?"

Black Joker, who looked very uncomfortable in the butler suit, shrugged. "No clue whatsoever." "Okay. See you later."

Nick walked off, heading for the nearest door. He opened it up and stepped inside, into a dark room, flipping on the light.

"Oh, wow." He said. "Star Wars."

He was floating in space as Tie-Fighters and X-Wings zoomed around. He walked to the left and found himself facing down Yoda.

"I sense much fear in you." Yoda said wisely.

"Uh…you seen a scared family and a black-haired teen anywhere around, probably being threatened by a dangerous female?"

"Ah, yes. Beware you must. Trouble she is."

"I'll bet. But powerful am I."

"Use the Force…and try checking down the hall."

"Oh. Thanks!"

"No problem, hmm-hmm."

Yoda nodded sagely. Nick bowed and began to walk back.

"Oh, wait just a moment, young one!"

"Yes, Master Yoda?"

"If see you E.T, tell him: Owe me fifty bucks he does."

"I will." Nick said, leaving.

Taking Yoda's advice, he walked down the hall and opened the first door he came to. Then he immiedately closed it and looked back into the other hallway, yelling at Black Joker.

"You could have warned me there were porno flicks in this castle!"

"Porn movies are movies too…"

"Darn you, Yoda!" Nick said. "Okay, I'll try another door."

He opened the door across from that one. He was now watching…oh! Ol' Yeller!

Fifteen minutes later… 

"Oh god, that mvoie always makes me cry…" Nick said, as he exited the door, sniffling. "Poor old yeller! That son of a bitching bear! I would have shot it! And if I'd had a gun…"

He opened up another door. He looked around. "Animal House. Nice."

John Belushi was sitting at the table, cauliflower in his mouth. Nick knew what was gonna happen next and ducked. PLORSH!

"I'm a zit. Get it?"

Nick laughed so hard he got the attention of the patrons in the diner. He excused himself and walked down the hall, still laughing. "Aw, man…I love that movie." He opened the next door and went in. Freaky…he seemed to be in a closet of some kind…no, it was the kitchen…wait…this kitchen looked familiar…

CRACK!

Nick turned around and saw Jack Nicholson's face poking through an axed door.

"Heeeere's Johnny!"

**"AAAAAA!"  
**

He screamed, running out the door and closing it. "Why, oh WHY did I watch the last half an hour of that movie?" He moaned. He walked down the hallway and found a twisting staircase that led upstairs. He walked up it, and then saw ANOTHER huge hallway…but he could hear singing, and he saw…snow? Yes, it was snow, slowly drifting from underneath the doors! Nick ran to one of them and yanked it open. Could it be?

YES! A hallway of animated Christmas specials! The Grinch was carving up roast beast in this one, Snow Miser and Heat Miser were doing a duet in that one…oh! Rudolph! Nick couldn't resist it, he ended up running right over to Rudolph and petting him. "You rock, Rudolph." Nick said. "Thanks!" Rudolph said. "Hey, you seen Charlie Brown around here?" "Oh man, that guy's got an entire hallway devoted to him! Take a right at the end of the hallway, go past the bathroom, and then take a left and you'll find him." "Thanks. My man, Rudolph!" "Word." They knocked hands and hooves, and then Nick left the room, following Rudolph's directions.

He passed the bathroom, then remembered…

The prieviews room was right across from ALL the bathrooms, right?

Nick opened the door across from this one and took a look in. There was a huge screen, with a large array of buttons in front of it, located on a table. Each one had the name of a movie that was going to come out. Nick pressed on that sounded good, "Super Size Me".

Da dum…

"It's hard for me, to watch him do this…"

Da dum…

"These, these numbers are outrageous…"

Da dum…

"You're killing yourself. You'll die. You're gonna die."

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da…

"I want more. More-more-more."

"You gotta STOP."

DA! DA DA!

"Wow. Nice movie by the looks of it." Nick said. "I'm gonna have to check that out when it gets out on DVD."

He picked another one, labeled "Star Wars III".

"Wooooowwwwww…" He said when it finished. "Awesoooome. That Grievous guy is creepy, but…cooool! Anny going bad!"

Leaving for Charlie Brown's hallway, Nick ducked into a room, and was witness to a classic "Peanuts" scene…poor "Chuck" was about to NOT kick the football. Lucy van Pelt took away the football at the last moment and Charlie Brown landed on his back in a painful fashion. Worse still, Linus and Sally were watching from afar, both looking really annoyed at Lucy and feeling sorry for Charlie. Lucy was smug, as usual, and poor Charlie groaned as he tried to stand up.

Suddenly Nick felt it.

He was ANGRY.

He had always HATED when mean cartoon characters made the lives of decent, nice characters rotten. From the comics to Saturday morning cartoons to books…he had NEVER liked it. He'd always taken it personally…

And now…he could vent the anger.

He grinned and walked over as Lucy was talking.

"Well whatcha' think of that, Charlie Brown? I was .5 seconds faster than I usually am!"

"I'll tell you what I think, Lucy van Pelt! You're a bitch, and I'm gonna belt you one!"

Everyone was suddenly surprised by the teenage boy who picked up Lucy by her skirt and slung her over his back. Lucy was paralyzed in dumb shock for all of five seconds before she started whacking her small fists against Nick's back, to no avail. Nick walked over to Snoopy and held Lucy out. "Give her the biggest kiss you can muster." He said to Snoopy, grinning.

Pooch smooch!

"AAARRRGGGHH! Dog germs! I've got dog germs on me! Icky-icky dog germs!" Lucy ran down the sidewalk, screaming at the top of her lungs. Nick gave Snoopy a pat on the head. "Good dog. VERY good dog."

Then he looked over at Charlie Brown. "Hey Chuck, where's the "Kite-Eating Tree" that gives you so much crap!"

"Over there." Charlie Brown said, suddenly smiling. Nick eagerly walked over to the tree, which quivered in fear. Nick grinned and pointed at the tree. "Your day has come, tree! TIME TO **ROCK! HENSHIN!**"

Transforming again, Nick then activated MACH SPEED and ZOOM, and in a few minutes, the Kite-Eating Tree was up in flames, burning to dust. Nick grinned and clapped his hands. "My work here is done." He said. Everyone, especially Charlie Brown, jumped up and down, cheering.

It's over…it's oooohhhhverrrr… 

Charlie was HUGGING Nick, he was so happy. "Thank you, thank you, THANK you!" Nick de-transformed and shrugged. "No biggie. Hey, I'm looking for my family. Seen them around?" "Well I heard they were at the end of my hallway, in the room with the HUGE double doors." "Cool. See you later, Charlie Brown. Don't go changing." He gave Charlie Brown a hug, then left the room, heading down the hallway and walking up to a large pair of double doors. "Well…here I go!"

Nick opened the door and stepped inside. It was dark, for sure, but there, to the left of a huge, plush chair that was turned around, was his family all tied up and looking like they were about to scream. When they saw Nick they broke into huge grins and cheered. "NICK! You finally came! Get us outta here!"

But Matt had something else to say.

"Nick, be careful! The Master, she…she can do freaky stuff!"

Nick nodded. "Okay, Master, who are you?"

The figure sitting in the plush chair began to laugh insanely…then she wheeled the chair around.

Blond hair…blue eyes…blue dress…NO glasses…

"Oh my God…Goldie, Sylvia's twin sister!"

Goldie glared at him. "You know, in your incredibly short career as a superhero, you've ruined a whole lot of really clever plans, you stupid kid!"

"Goldie, why on Earth would you want to do this?"

"Because of people like HIM!" Goldie pointed an accusing finger at Nick. "Huh?" Nick and Dave said at the same time.

"Oh sure, after the game was released, I wanted to be a real superhero like Sylvia…but…but I hadn't SEEN the game. When I saw the extra part that I was in, how I was portrayed…"

Nick knew what she was saying.

"Oh…but weren't you TICKLING your sister in that opening part of the game?"

"Yes, I was! But idiotic, ignorant, sophomoric people like your brother thought I was doing some kind of sex act! They thought I was a lesbian, and that Sylvia was bisexual! For the record, we're not lesbian OR bisexual." "Okay…but who cares what some idiots think?" "Because "some idiots" accounted for 68 of a Movieland poll who were asked as to what they thought I was DOING in the beginning of the game bit I starred in!" "Wow…you mean you polled people to find out what they thought you were doing, and most of them thought…gee. That sucks out loud."

"Yes…and I got SICK of it! Being humiliated…and then being ignored! Getting no game time! Getting so few lines in the movie…I get no more than five. FIVE! I'm practically a fking extra in the movie you went to see!"

"Oh, gee, I'm sorry…" "I don't want any PITY!" Goldie snarled, standing up. "As a daughter of a director, I've got incredible power, and now that I'm here, in the home turf…my powers are AMPLIFIED. I can do ANYTHING!"

Nick grinned and took up a battle pose. "We'll see about that! TIME TO **ROCK! HENSHIN!**"

He transformed, and rushed forward with MACH SPEED, cape trailing behind him and fist flying forward…

Goldie snapped her fingers.

KABANG! Nick was back in civilian clothes. Nick gasped. "How the…what in the…you can't…" Then he saw it.

His v-watch was broken on the floor.

Nick knelt down and cradled his broken v-watch, which had helped him out of so many tough scrapes. Saved so many lives…done so much good…and now it was all broken. "My v-watch…" It shone no more. Nick lowered his head, shamed. Goldie laughed. "Now then…where was I? Oh yeah…I was gonna destroy you!"

Nick's family gulped.

This…did not…look good.

Meanwhile, outside…

Joe and the others were speaking with Black Joker. "Nick already ran inside?" "Yep. He wouldn't be stopped. He really cares about saving his family. I forgot to tell him that Goldie could break his v-watch if she concentrated enough."

Sylvia wiped some tears away. "I can't believe Goldie betrayed us…" Blue nodded sadly. "If only we'd seen the signs…" "We should have tried to include her more in our jobs…she was just as skilled as Sylvia…" "You should have listened to ME!" Alastor growled. "I told you all time and time again that she was ready to go on the big missions, but you always left her behind, and she had so much time on her hands she conducted that dumb poll…"

Suddenly Rachel spoke up. "Wait…this castle…it contains Director power in it?" "Yeah…" "And you can't call up another v-watch for us, right?" "And the villains are…well…you know. According to the rules, villains don't get v-watches, and Alastor only had one to bring out his dormant powers, which he now has total control over." "Yeah, I'm all good, but Nick…Nick is in trouble. How are we gonna help him?"

Joe was silent. He thought and thought. Then, an idea popped into his head.

"Dad-in-law…could you use your director's power…uh, with Sylvia's help of course, to uh…make some stuff that could make Nick stronger?" "Well…I can't summon up a better v-watch, if that's what you mean…" "No…not that. You once told me that the v-watch only brought out the hero within. Is there something else you could make that would bring out the hero within Nick?" "Well…maybe there is…but I need something to focus on…something that his heart could respond to…"

Alastor blinked slowly. He thought hard. Hulk Davidson began to hum.

"Would you stop-" Alastor suddenly froze, and then he snapped his fingers.

"That's it! I know what'll help unleash the hero in Nick!"


	19. The Last Show, pt 2

**Um…I've never done this before, but…hello. I am Black Joker…**

**And I've had a rotten life.**

**It all started when I was created by King Blue to be one of his more powerful Bianky soldiers, quickly becoming the best…but Viewtiful Joe STILL kicked my butt…on a regular basis!  
**

**Then this new kid, Nick Grey, showed up…and he kicked MY butt as well. So I said to my new boss that I wanted a change in jobs…**

**That's how I got stuck as the butler in her castle. MAN, Goldie's got a temper! **

**I feel sorry for her though. She deserved a lot more respect than she got. **

**In any case, she's going nuts, and she completely destroyed Nick's v-watch. It's in thirty six different pieces now.**

**Pretty bad, huh?**

**But there's some good news. The v-watch is a tool, one that simply brings out the hero within a person, empowering said person. So if Blue and Sylvia use their Director blood to call up something ELSE that will bring out the hero in Nick, then he'll be able to win against Goldie…**

**Maybe…**

**Possibly…**

**Okay, there's not a good chance they can even think UP how to make something, let alone that it'll empower Nick. But hey, a small chance is better than none…**

**All I know is this…**

**I'M OUTTA HERE! AAA!**

"Coward." Alastor grumbled. "Are you STILL griping over Black Joker?" Sylvia asked. "We left him behind eighteen minutes ago! Quit whining, Nick NEEDS us." "Indeed." Rachel said. "My sensors detect he has been moved from the second floor, and is now on the third floor." "How many floors does this castle have?" "Oh, dozens." Said Blue dismissively. Dr. Cranken was having a field day, he kept touching all the walls and doors.

"Such fantastic design…and how can it be bigger INSIDE than outside? Amazing, simply amazing!" "That's Movieland for ya! "Great Scenery, Amazing Wildlife and Infinite Pocketspace!". At least, that's what we've got on the brochure." "EVERYONE comes for the infinite pocketspace."

"Well do you have a guitar in your pocket? ANYONE have any musical instruments in their pockets?"

"Nope."

"Me neither."

"Nah."

"SNORT. No."

"No, sir!"

"Uh…don't think so. THOUGHT I packed a mike…dammit!"

"Uh, am afraid am not having instrument."

"Nope."

"Uh-uh."

"Negatory."

"Neither me or my brother have one."

"I have a violin at my lab…"

Blue sighed. "So we look and look until we find a musical film. Try looking for "Spinal Tap" or something." "Or a TV documentary on KISS or something?" "Yeah, that'll do just as well. We'd better split up."

And so when the reached the third floor, they split up into twos. Let's go to our first party!

**JOE AND SYLVIA**

Joe and Sylvia opened up a door and found something really interesting…a nice-looking young woman with long hair was being dangled over a pot of boiling water in a "Island Cannibal" B-rated flick.

"A little help here?" She said. "Oh, sure thing!" Joe said. "Joe, wai-" Too late. Joe ran in front of the cannibals and jumped up and down. "Looky-looky! Look at all this meat I've got on THESE GUNS, BABY!" "Joe!"

Although Sylvia did like Joe's muscles (he HAD gained a few…) this was NOT the time. She grabbed him and ran, and the cannibals followed after. Luckily the young woman knew yoga.

She stretched up, up…and with her teeth, bit the rope clean through. She fell right into the pot.

Five seconds later…

"YOOOOWWW!" Kelly jumped out of the pot, running out the door, with Sylvia and Joe right behind, who had lost the cannibals in a jungle. They slammed the door. "You okay, miss?" "I'm just glad I took Yoga classes. I'm Kelly, Nick's step-sister?" "Oh, nice to meet you." "You seen Nick?" "Yeah, that blond-haired woman had some freaky white robots move everyone around, and she knocked Nick out and took him away somewhere. Said she was gonna give him a "hero's death"…but you guys are gonna save him, right?"

"Uh…we'll sure as hell try…" Joe said, sweating a little.

**JET AND BLUE**

Jet and Blue had ended up rescuing Jordan, Nick's step-brother, from a terrible, horrible…okay, not really. He'd been dumped in a city flick, and now all of them were engaged in a drinking contest. Jordan was winning, third behind only the fat guy in the plaid shirt and the skinny guy known in the movie as "Knock'em Back Jack".

THUD.

Uh, about the fat guy? Never mind. Jordan was in second place, and catching up!

"How…how does zees filthy American do eet?"

"Hey man, never challenge the MASTER to a drinking contest! I owe so much to my old man…I'm glad I never get to see him!"

Jordan slams his empty glass down. "He left my mom with me and Kelly and NEVER bothered to keep in touch! Bastard! He never loved meee…"

Jordan started crying. Jack stopped drinking and patted him on the back. "There, there, American, I understand. My father, he too was drunken bastard…"

Jet and Blue, who were too passed out to pay attention, groaned.

**ALASTOR AND RACHEL**

Alastor looked away from Rachel, "harrumphing". "What is your malfunction?" Rachel asked, a little bit annoyed. "Oh! Don't give me that "what is your malfunction" crap! How come everyone trusts you more than they trust me?" "Probably because you tried to kill Joe and Sylvia over and over…" "So did you! I'll bet they picked you because you charmed the socks off of Sylvia and Joe!" "I was just following programming. You on the other hand, were obsessed with "fighting the ultimate battle"." "But…I…ARGH! Stop ruining my good ideas with your logic!"

Both of them were in a gangster movie. Naturally, they were keeping FAR away from any dark alleys, parking lots, or casinos. They were both looking around on the roof, but couldn't see any musical instruments. "Let's just go find somewhere else to…"

"Okay, bring da kid up here, see?"

They both turned around and saw a bunch of gangster hoods bringing up a scared-yet-still-pissed boy up to the roof from the fire escape. The kid gave the gangsters a look that could kill. "You're lucky that my hands and feet are tied, because if I had them free, I'd go all tae-kwon-do on your asses!" "I think Nick told us about him. That's David, right?"

"Shaddap!" "Make me! I'm not afraid of you!" "Yep, that's David." "We had best go save him." "All right, all right."

Alastor walked over to the gangsters. "Hey, let the kid go." They took one look at him and started laughing. "What's so funny?" He snarled. "Uh, your tail." David said.

Alastor looked behind him at his tail, which quivered. His mouth turned into a feral snarl. Precisely fifteen seconds later every single one of the gangsters had been savagely thrown off the building. David hid behind Rachel while Alastor blew off some steam by bashing his fists against a nearby chimney.

"Alastor doesn't like his tail being made fun of." Rachel said. "I gathered." David said.

**CHARLES THE THIRD AND BIG JOHN**

"Where are we? SNORT."

"It appears to be…"

Big John looked around, scratching his head.

"A romance movie."

They were in Paris, and there was a black-haired, beret-wearing Frenchman underneath someone's balcony. Yep. Romance movie.

"Victor, I cannot hold it in any longer. Why must we meet in the DARKNESS of Paris?"

A red-headed European type walked onto the balcony, looking very unhappy.

"Oh, John…you know that both our parents would never tolerate our love!"

It was a gay romance movie.

"Let's go." Charles said. "Agreed."

"Hey!"

They turned and saw a long-haired American of Native-American orgin approach the guys, who turned and looked at her. "Hey, guys. Could you tell me where the exit is?"

"Sure. It is over there." Victor said, pointing to the far right. "Thanks. You're kinda cute, but I'm married, and very happily so." "Well we're gay." "Oh." Barbara said, a little bit surprised. "Um…did you…uh…did you…well…" "Choose to be gay? No. Just realized it about ourselves." "You know John, this woman coming here…she inspires me! Let us go announce our love!" "Oh, happy day!"

John leapt up into Victor's arms and they shared a huge hug, going inside the room and out the door. "Mother? Father? I have something to tell you…"

Barbara blinked stupidly, then smiled slightly. "Well, it's their lives."

**HULK AND FLINTY**

"Oh, I LOVE this movie!" "Me too!"

It was the Reese's Pieces scene from E.T. E.T stretched out his fingers and began snacking them up one by one.

"Hey, I wanna get some…" "No! They are for E.T." Flinty insisted. "Awww…"

Then someone tapped them from behind, and they both jumped into the air. "AAA!"

"Uh, are you two part of the movie?" "No, we're with Joe and the others, here to help Nick out. Are you a friend of his?"

"I'm his mother." Eda said.

"Ohhh! Nice to meethca, Mrs. Grey." "That's not my name. That's my ex-husband's name." "So what IS your name?" "Deebacaree." "Huh?" "Deebacaree." "Can you spell that?" Hulk asked. Eda sighed. "D-i-b…"

**BRUCE AND DR. CRANKEN**

"Hey, mate! I know what film dis is!"

Both of them were on a boat, with a brown-haired guy wearing glasses throwing chum into the water. Suddenly a huge maw came up from the water, snapping up the chum. The guy saw the shark and immediately said…

"We're gonna need a bigger boat."

"Oh no." Dr. Cranken said. "Where's the door?" "Uh…up there." Bruce pointed up into the sky. Sure enough, there was the door. "Uh, you got a ladder, mate?" He asked the man, who shook his head, looking very spooked at having both a shark in the water AND on the boat. "Relax, we're not gonna eat you, but uh…he might." Bruce pointed towards the fin in the water that was coming closer…closer…

"You're a shark, do something!" Dr. Cranken snarled. "Well uh…um…I kinda don't play well with others…" Another man, this one also having brown hair, only it was darker and he had a mustache. "Um, am I in a movie, or am I hallucinating?" He asked them. "Yep. You're in "JAWS". The first one." "I do hope you have an idea, sir?" Dr. Cranken asked, a little bit afraid. Michael rubbed his chin. "Now let's see…what did they do in the movie?..."

The shark started ramming the boat…

**LEO AND TIGER**

Leo and Tiger were both in, of all things, a science fiction movie, and not just ANY science fiction movie…

"Wow. Star Trek." "Look, that kid over there…he's not dressed like the rest of them!"

Matt was sitting to the side of Kirk as Kirk watched Spock die.

"You will always…be my friend. Live long…and prosper." And then Spock slumped, dying. Kirk banged on the glass, tears falling from his eyes.

Matt began to bawl. Both Fire Leo and Frost Tiger quickly ran over and dragged him away, not to be cruel, but because they didn't want him attracting a lot of attention.

"NOOOOOO! SPOOOOOOCK! Lemme go! He needs meeee!"

"You need to take a deep breath, child."

"Yes, or recite some haiku. That always works for me."

"Sniff…okay. A haiku. Spock is really dead. I can't believe he just died...why'd he have to diiiiie?"

"Brother, look what you've done!" "I was only trying to help!"

**ANOTHER JOE AND THUNDER BOY**

It was dark. Spooky. Creepy.

It was nighttime at a camp of some sort, and Another Joe and Thunder Boy were creeping around the woods that surrounded and permeated the camp, trying not to show that they were slightly afraid.

"You're not scared, right?"

"I am an Underworld demon. I am NOT scared of a stupid little camp."

"Well, do you know what film this is?"

"What?"

"Friday the Thirteenth."

"…wait…as in…oh, no problem."

"No problem? Friday the Thirteenth is the movie series with JASON in it, as in Jason the psycho with the knife! Mr. Hockey Mask! The only guy who's as crazy as him is that nut, Freddy Kreuger!"

"Yeah, I know. But it's cool."

"HOW!"

"Jason WENT to Hell, remember?"

"Yeah, so?"

"He's really quite an interesting guy."

"You KNOW him?"

"We've played poker together."

"Okaaay…"

Meanwhile, not very far away…

Nick was sweating bullets. He was trying VERY, VERY hard not to scream, and had to bite his tongue so hard he could taste blood. Jason, from the Friday the Thirteenth movies, was staring him right in the face. Jason, in case you don't know, had a very deformed face.

VERY deformed.

On top of that, he was a psychopathic killer and incredibly dangerous.

And right now he was right in front of Nick, who had been rudely tied to a tree that was by the lake where Jason lived near. Jason's shack was about fifteen feet to the left, and there were some knives, axes and various sharp things littered all around the area. Jason leered creepily.

"Well, well. What have we got here?"

"Uh…let me go." Nick asked.

"Hmm…" Jason stuck his face REALLY close to Nick, tilting it left and right a little.

"No. I don't think I will. Wanna know whyyyy?"

"Because you've gone evil after being left to drown by some stupid, hormone-addled camp counselors who were more interested in sex than in doing their job?"

"You're a pretty damn smart kid."

"Um…could you…uh…not get so close? You kinda smell."

Big mistake.

"Oh, I smell, huh? You'll have to excuse me…I've been out getting…"

Jason reached down and picked up an axe and a decapitated squirrel, holding both of them up to Nick's nostrils.

"LUNCH!"

Nick felt bile rise. He resisted any urge to vomit. "Want some?" Jason grinned nastily. "Uh…no…"

"Good, cuz I'm not sharing. Now wait right there…ha ha ha! As if you have a choice."

Jason walked into the shack. "I'm gonna get my favorite knife, and then I'm gonna cut your hair."

"But I got a haircut two weeks ago!"

"Yeah, but there's more hair…DOWN THERE."

Nick couldn't take it anymore, and started thrashing around, screaming and hollering.

"AAAARRRRGGHH! HELP! HEELLLLPPP! SOMEONE HELP! HELP! OH GOD, **HELP**!"

At that moment, Another Joe and Thunder Boy walked through the woods towards Nick, tapping him on the shoulder. "Guys! Oh, thank God YOU'RE here! You gotta get me outta here, PLEASE!"

"Well, he did say "please", so…"

Another Joe freed Nick, while Thunder Boy walked into the shack to talk to Jason.

"Hey Jasoooon! How's it going?"

"Huh? What the? Wait…Thunder Boy, that you? Man, you've lost weight! And nice muscles! Well-toned."

"Thanks."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Which way is the exit?" "Uh…that way." "Thanks. Hey wait…is this the BEGINNING of the movie, or the end?" "Beginning." "Great! See ya!"

Nick runs through the woods, grabbing a huge stick from the ground and listening for the sounds of…there! A jeep, driving into the forest!

Nick thanked his lucky stars for "Wikipedia" and it's entry on the movie, and snuck up behind the jeep. A moment later a girl jumped out of the jeep, injuring her leg. Nick hid behind the bushes and waited for the girl to walk off. Then, a moment later, a middle-aged woman with reddish-brown hair and a bluish-white sweater carrying a nasty-looking knife got out of the jeep, all the while muttering to herself something that sounded like "I'll do it, Jason, this is all for you."

Nick, being a decent human being and a person who HATED seeing bad guys get away with things, lifted the stick and waited for the woman to go after the girl. He snuck up behind the woman, just as she was approaching the girl, ready to slit her throat.

WHACK!

And Mrs. Pamela Voorhees was dooown! Nick swung his stick in a circle and then tossed it in the air. It flipped a few times, then Nick caught it, and slammed it into his palm. "THAT'S the way you do it!" He said proudly. "You okay, miss? You're uh…Annie, right?" "Yeah." "Well come on. Let's go." Nick and Annie picked up Mrs. Vorhees and tied her to the back of the truck. (She's not dead, don't worry folks!) Then they drove out of the woods, heading towards town.

Nick then untied Pamela's unconscious body and walked into a diner with Annie, the one Annie had just left. "This woman tried to kill Annie here. Officer Tierney, right?" The officer at the diner nodded. "Arrest her. She's murdered other people too, and she's poisoned the camp waters as well. Lock her up good and tight."

After that, Nick left the diner, and Annie walked out. "I don't know how to thank you." She said. "It's no biggie." Nick said. "But uh…stay away from the camp. Mrs. Vorhees's son is just as crazy as she is." "Okay, I will." Annie gave Nick a thank-you peck on the cheek, making Nick blush, and then walked back inside the diner to order a drink. Nick smiled, still blushing, and then walked off, heading for the road. Another Joe and Thunder Boy followed right behind.

"The door's that way." Thunder Boy said, pointing across the road. "Once we're out, we'd better call the others over."

Another Joe suddenly grabbed Nick's shoulder, turning him around. "Hey, why'd you save the girl? She was kinda supposed to _die_."

"It was the right thing to do." Nick said simply.

Another Joe groaned. "You doing the right thing is gonna get you killed one day."

"I know." Nick said, smiling. He opened the door and stepped back into the castle.

"Now…to find Goldie!" He took off running before Another Joe or Thunder Boy could stop him, heading down the stairs. They then heard a huge set of double doors open.

Thunder Boy called out. "Nick! WAIT! Oh, dammit! How are we gonna stop him NOW?" "We'd better call the others and tell them to get their asses over here. I know where Nick's headed…"

"Where?"

Thunder Boy slowly turned to face Another Joe. "The backyard…"

Another Joe gulped.

"Oh boy." He said. "That's…that's not good."

Fifteen minutes later…

Nick stepped outside, and was amazed.

It was a swirling vortex, a mixture of colors, everything converging at one huge point, like a smoothie of colors was being mixed right before his eyes. An apex of power, some might say.

And there, facing the swirling vortex, was Goldie, dressed in all black and gold clothes. She turned around and smirked, showing off her new sunglasses.

"About time. Your friends sure are slow when it comes to rescues."

"I don't care…wait..."

Suddenly he was worried. His family where was his family?

"You didn't hurt my family, did you?" Nick asked, his tone becoming dangerous.

"Of course not. I didn't REALLY need your family for strength. I wasn't gonna "eat their souls" or anything like that. I just needed them as bait to draw out a TRULY strong soul…"

"Huh?"

Goldie grinned. "Hellooooo? WHO in the audience was the biggest fan of the Viewitful Joe series?"

"I was." Nick said, suddenly getting The Willies.

"And WHO among the audience was constantly wishing that he could be a superhero, and always, secretly and not, acting like he could be one any good chance he got?"

"I was." Nick said softly, looking at the ground and scuffing his feet a little.

"And WHO, among all of the people at that movie, rushed in to save the ones who had been kidnapped? Did anyone else go into the silver screen? NO. Who rushed in, only caring about saving the ones he loved? Who was the only one to come to the rescue out of ALL the people there, the one who truly had a hero's soul?"

"I was." Nick said, suddenly feeling…charged, almost.

"Exactly. Only YOU were strong enough within your soul to be able to save your family. Nobody else could have in that theater. Only you. And therefore, you're the only one who could have stopped my plan…or fulfilled it."

Goldie sneered. "You see…once I take your soul…your heroic soul…it'll belong to me…and I will become a true hero in my own right!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Nick said, raising his fist. "I may not have VFX powers…"

He rushed forward.

"BUT I'LL NEVER LET THE BAD GUY WIN!"

**Author's Note:**

**This is it! Only two more parts of the story left. The final battle, and the epilogue. It's Nick vs. Goldie in a mano a womano, a fight to the finish!...but Nick has no powers, and Goldie's got mad skills! Can Joe and the others bring out the hero in Nick? Is the hero in Nick even strong enough to win? **

**Find out…soon! And review!  **


	20. The Last Show, pt 3

**And here we are…right back where we started from.**

**With me…**

**Nicholas Michael Grey. Dynamic Nick.**

**I've been through a lot. I'm only 14, and I've faced down more demons than a kid should have to.**

**And now look at me. **

**I'm trying to beat up a dangerous, possibly insane young woman who has incredible powers over reality…VFX powers included!**

**I don't think that I can win…**

**But I know that I can sure as hell TRY!**

**And I'm not gonna give in! **

**I know it looks bad. I know I'm gonna probably die. I know that I may never see my family again…**

**But letting Goldie off the hook is wrong. Not trying to stand up for what's right, that's a crime. **

**And besides…**

**Imagine how cool my brother will think I am if I win!**

David sighed as everyone ran down the hallway, towards the backyard exit where Nick had run through.

"Nick's gonna get himself killed, and you wanna play MUSIC?"

"Hey man, never blame the beat." Joe said. "The power or Rock is strong."

"Why couldn't you conjure up a bazooka instead of a guitar?"

"Well there's a funny story about that. You see, I was a young hero in Movieland, and I had this contract…"

"I don't wanna hear it."

Sylvia looked over at Joe. "I hope that Nick wins...wait, did anyone find Cameo Leon's soul?"

Joe shrugged. "No...I think that only Goldie knows where it is...so Nick's gotta beat her to save him."

Eda bit her lip. "I just hope Nick's okay…"

Was Nick okay?

What do YOU think? He was getting bh slapped around by Goldie, who was sitting on a stump, reading a book with one hand and slapping with MACH SPEED with her other hand. Nick's attempted assault had not gone well.

Here's how it started…with a musical aid!

**BGM: Dark Hero (Heroes Crisis)**

FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO…

Nick rushed forward, fist flying. Goldie yawned and stepped to the side, grabbing Nick's shirt collar. With a yelp, Nick was thrown onto his back, and then Goldie jumped on him, delivering a very nice flurry of jabs to his stomach. Then she jumped off and started kicking him in the sides.

BAM! "Ow!"

BAM! "Ow!"

BAM! "Ow!"

BAM! "Owwww!"

Nick rolled over, groaning. "You…you urgh…you jerk!" He grabbed Goldie's shirt and got up in her grill. "That's it! No more bullsting around! I'm gonna keep it **real**!"

What Nick failed to realize was that he was saying this all in SLOW. When he DID realize it, it was way too late.

"All that "Keep it real" talk just got me so pissed off!" Goldie would later say. "I tell you, I SAVORED that ass-kicking."

What followed as indeed a fine ass-kicking. Goldie head-butted Nick, then kicked out, getting him on the legs. Nick fell to his knees, and what followed was a rapid series of chops to his shoulders. Nick's body shuddered over and over as if he was on a vibrating chair. Then Goldie twisted around, kicking out with her foot and sending Nick flying through the air. He landed with a heap. Goldie smirked and snapped her fingers again, and a tree stump and a copy of "Mostly Harmless" by Douglas Adams appeared in her hand. She sat down to read. Nick rushed forward again…

Which brings us to the bh slapping. Nick was finally slapped extra hard, and he flew back, groaning. He was really wiped.

(Music ends.)

So it was a good thing that Joe and the others came when they did.

Nick looked up, and slowly got up. "Mom? Dad? Dave? Everyone? You're…you're…"

He rushed forward, and hugged them all save for David, who was standing to the side. Tears were flying freely. "Oh, God…I…I missed you so-so…much! I'm sorry guys, I didn't help…"

To his surprise, David suddenly walked over and hugged him tightly.

"Nick…I…I'm glad you're okay."

Nick smiled and gave his brother, who had hated him for years, the biggest hug he'd ever receive as a pre-teen. Goldie snickered. "How touching! A nice little family reunion…"

She took up a fighting position.

"But the reunion's over! NOW! HENSHIN A GO-GO, **BABY**!"

She transformed, and was now in sexy attire like Sylvia. She had light blue chest armor, long white gloves, a white skirt, and golden pom-poms, as well as a laser gun (gold, of course) on a pink belt. She also had a huge visor that covered all of her face down to her nose, and it was golden as well.

"Radiant Goldie here to kick ass!"

"Radiant Goldie, huh? Nice name." Nick said. Joe stepped forward. He had a guitar strapped around him. He turned to the other heroes, who also had instruments. Blue had drums, Sylvia had a mike, Alastor had the bass, Jet was standing behind a DJ's stand, and Rachel's chest was a sterero.

Nick resisted the urge to look. David didn't.

"Shame, David!" Barbara said, dragging him away by the ear, much to everyone else's amusement. Nick started to laugh, but got serious quick.

"You got a plan, Joe?"

"Uh huh. "Hey Goldie…stop me if you've heard this before…"

**BGM: Henshin a go-go, baby!**

Nick perked up. "All right! Now this I like!"

"You'll like this even more, Nick. Say the words!"

Nick nodded.

"Okay…TIME TO **ROCK! HENSHIN!**"

It was amazing.

Rainbow light cascaded from Nick's chest. It spread out, shooting out like a radiant shower, and sparkles of light descended over them all. Nick began to glow, and slowly but surely, he transformed from head to toe. The headband/visor, the cape, the chest insignia, the gloves, the pants, the boots…

He smiled, and turned towards his family.

"I'm Nick…" He said, saluting with his middle and pointer finger.

"Dy-nam-ic Nick!" He said, twirling around and then jumping into the air, giving the "rock on" symbol. He landed deftly and grinned.

"And I'm back, baby!"

(Music ends.)

"Nice suit." David said. Nick nodded and turned to face Goldie.

"Goldie…you need to be reminded what it means to be a true hero. You see, with the help of my peace-loving friends and with my family behind me…it's all worked out! I don't know how, I don't know why…but I know I can win now! I've got the hero in me, Goldie…can you say the same?"

Goldie rolled her eyes. "Quit the melodrama…and let's cut to the chase."

"Fine by me!...but first…a nice tune."

Nick pressed a button on his belt, and the song…and final fight…began!

**BGM: True Heroes (Final Battle)**

Nick jumped into the air, twisting and flipping as he did so. Goldie pulled out her gun and fired off a barrage of bullets at Nick, who simply used SLOW to dodge them. Then he rushed down, foot first, and Goldie jumped out of the way. She fired again, but Nick ducked, sliding and hitting her foot.

Goldie jumped up and down, hollering. "Ow-ow-ow! You rotten jerk!"

Nick felt kinda bad for doing that, but fifteen seconds later he wasn't, because Goldie suddenly used MACH SPEED to rush forward, and she kicked Nick's stomach. "WOAGH!" He said, arms flailing as he was sent flying back. He landed hard but got up quickly as Goldie ran towards him at MACH SPEED.

Nick grinned, and activated ZOOM. He turned his left fist left, and then rushed forward.

BOP.

Fist met face, and Goldie stood there, looking at her nose where Nick had hit. Then she fell to the ground, groaning as it bled a little. Nick quickly rubbed the blood off on his pant legs.

"Ew. Gross!" Nick said. "Reminds me of when I got a bloody nose from fighting with David…" "You were a such a wussy back then…" "Key words, Dave. "Back then"."

"What the heck did you just DO?" Jordan asked. "And how can I do that to impress chicks?" "It's an original move. Hmm…I think I'll call it the Blitzkrieg Bop, since it's so fast…and it's musical too! Oh, they're boiling in the backse-EEEYOOOWW!"

Goldie had just stomped on his foot with SLOW and ZOOM, and Nick was now hopping on one foot, rubbing his sore foot with his hands. "Ow-ow-ow-ow-owie! You…why I oughta…I WILL oughta!"

Nick jumped into the air, dodging a MACH SPEED punch she threw. He raised his leg into the air, and it glowed with a greenish-blue aura. He then slammed it down onto her helmet in a circular motion, and she fell to the ground, helmet visibly cracked.

Nick grinned. "Man, I feel all Street Fighter doing that stuff!" "Dude, did you just do a Crescent Kick? That is so cool! Sylvia's an expert at that stuff, man!" "Really?" Nick asked. Sylvia blushed a little. "Well I don't like to brag…"

POW! Nick went flying through the air, and uppercut punch harshly delivered to his chin. Goldie snarled, whipping out her gun again. "You stupid brat! I'm the strongest one here, not you! It's finally time I got some RESPECT!"

Nick quickly got up and activated SLOW just as the bullets whizzed toward him. He basically limboed underneath them, towards Goldie…and then activated MACH SPEED a moment later, rubbing his hands to get a spark going.

His fist flew towards her chin, rising up…

KA-POW!

His entire fist flaming with MACH SPEED flames, he uppercut punched Goldie into the air. She landed harshly as Nick blew the flames off of his hands. Her helmet was now VERY cracked. "Cool, a flaming dragon punch. And Goldie, you would have gotten more respect if you had stayed a hero instead of joining the dark side just to get attention. You're not getting respect…you're getting FEAR." Nick looked over at Joe. "Hey Joe, outta curiosity, do YOU do that-"Yeah, Joe can pull that trick off really well. Me, I'm…not so good." Sylvia said. "You guys must really play a lot of Street Fighter…" Nick said.

"You and Team Viewitful." He thought, thinking of the Viewtiful Joe series game designers.

Suddenly Goldie jumped up, kicking out with her foot, whacking Nick in the crown jewels.

"Owwwww…" Nick said, slowly sinking to his knees.

"Oh! He'll be singing soprano from now on." Alastor said, snickering. Rachel whacked him over the head. "YOW! Whatcha do that for!"

"There's not going to BE a "from now on" for him!" Goldie said coldly, walking over to Nick. She pointed her gun at his head. "Game over. You LOSE. Now I'M gonna be the best hero around."

Nick looked up, grinning. "Not yet!" He said, and head-butted her in the stomach, sending her gun flying away. He then jumped back as Goldie wheezed a little, trying to catch her breath. Nick held his right fist high. "I'm gonna end this, now!"

His fist shone with rainbow light, growing brighter and brighter, the light swirling around his fist. He rushed forward. "You wanted to be a true hero? Then you should have remembered…"

He drew his fist back…

"That true heroes don't throw their consciences away…**and they always win in the end**!"

KA-BOOOOOOM!

(Music ends.)

Fist met helmet, and it shattered into pieces. Goldie's eyes widened…

Then everything in the world went white all around, as the light engulfed Goldie and Nick, blinding those gathered…save for Nick and Goldie.

Goldie was hanging from a shrubbery, the endless abyss threatening to suck her in, a result of her power being lost. Now everything was going chaotic, the balance radically shifted. She was losing her grip. She couldn't hold on. She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out.

She had lost.

She let go.

A few minutes later, everyone was lying down, dazed and confused. There was dust everywhere, and they were out in a grassy field somewhere.

"Where are we?"

"I think we're in the end scene." Blue mused. "But…where are Nick and Goldie?"

Then the dust began to clear. Everyone looked around. No sign…

"Wait…over there!" Sylvia pointed far away, and they saw, in a cloud of clearing dust, two shapes…

Then it cleared, and there was Nick, on top of a hill, with grassy fields and blue skies around him, gently helping Goldie walk by supporting her on his shoulder. She was in a plain white t-shirt and blue shorts now, with yellow sneakers and golden earrings. Nick was back in his regular attire as well, wearing that "Life is Good" spring-green t-shirt, with the Celtic cross, the khaki cargo pants and the white and blue sneakers.

"Hey guys." Nick said. "Had to go save the lady in distress, all part of being a hero."

He beamed broadly. "You know how it is." He said simply.

**Author's Note:**

**The final battle…complete! Nick's inner hero triumphant, but there are still things left unsaid and unsolved. ****Coming up…the Epilogue…and extras! **


	21. Tomorrow's Hero is YOU!

**Hey there! Sexy Sylvia's here to tell you that I'm really glad it's all over.**

**We were surprised that Nick had actually saved Goldie from being sucked away into oblivion. After all, he had every right to just let her go…**

**But no, he rushed forward and grabbed her the moment she let go. **

**He really is a good person. **

**He really was the best hero out of all of the people that saw the movie.**

**And now, we're all gathered here, and Nick's staring right at Goldie. Apparently he's been talking to her.**

**I wonder what she's going to say…**

**What am I going to say?**

**Alastor's looking at her funny too. **

**I guess we're all kinda angry and feeling betrayed. I mean, she turned traitor, all because of some stupid sophomoric idiots!**

**But…I guess it can't hurt to hear her out. She DID give us all back our v-watches, too…**

**But I wonder what she'll say?**

"Goldie? I think you have something to say." Nick said, in a "go ahead little Billy, show the class what you brought in" way.

Goldie shuffled her feet. Everyone sat in the grass patiently, waiting. Nick was sitting right across from her, with Alastor and Sylvia next to him. Finally she spoke.

"I'm…sorry. Really sorry. I really acted like a bh, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you kinda did." Joe said.

Goldie sighed deeply. "All I ever wanted after Sylvia became a hero was to be like her. I always wanted to be like her anyway…and when she became a SUPERHERO…I just…I just wanted to do what she did. So when I got my v-watch and started doing good deeds, I was just so happy!...but then the game, extras and all, came out, and when I saw what people thought of my role in it…I just got…it just got all bottled up, and then it EXPLODED! I couldn't help it! I was so angry! I wanted even!"

Blue nodded sympathetically. He could understand where she was coming from.

"So I came up with this big plan. I used my Director powers to get JADOW and GEDOW together. Under a disguise, I convinced them I was a super-huge evil villain and that I wanted a human family to empower me so that I could take over Movieland. I made up a lot of crap to get them to believe me, and they finally did. So they stole Nick's family…"

"And me." Matt added.

"And you, and took you here. But then NICK came into the picture, to save them, so I sent JAGOW after them…and you know what happened. And the whole time, I was just getting more and more angrier! Just-just-stewing in my own fury! I couldn't help it!"

Nick looked back at her again. "And therefore?..."

"So therefore…I wanna say I'm sorry. I'm really, REALLY sorry."

Nick smiled. "Nice apology, Goldie. I forgive you."

David gaped. "WHAAAA? You can't just…but she-and the…but…but you should…Nick, what are you, retarded? She tried to…"

"Dude, she said she was sorry." Joe said.

"But she KIDNAPPED us!"

"Turn the other cheek." Barbara said.

"Nick DID save us." Matt added.

"And we're not hurt." Mike said, and Eda nodded, agreeing.

"Besides, she's just a girl, really. We should cut her some slack."

BAM! And Jordan was down! Goldie cracked her knuckles. "DON'T call me a girl."

"Wow!" Kelly said. "You go, uh…never mind."

Goldie turned to Alastor. "And Alastor, I know that I was pretty awful…okay, I was a total ice queen to you. I'm-MMM!"

Alastor had jumped up, and the two were now in a fierce lip-lock. "Oh, wow." Nick said. "Get a room!" hissed Another Joe. Rachel whacked HIM over the head.

Alastor stopped kissing. "In case you haven't figured it out, I forgive you." He said. "Uh…okay…" Then they started up again. Nick smiled. "I just love happy endings!"

"Me too." Cameo Leon said, appearing from thin air.

Everyone gasped. Nick jumped up. "Leon! You're alive!" He rushed over and hugged him. "I missed you, man. I couldn't find you when I looked!" "Neither could we." Blue said. "Where WERE you?" "Oh, I got restored when Nick beat Goldie. All her dark powers just…poof! Vanished! So I got my soul back and made my way here." "How'd you know where to go?" "Well I-"

**Riiiiing!**

Joe picked up his cell phone. "Yo, talk to Joe! Whuzzat? HOLY…guys, we got a problem! Some freaky aliens are invading Movieland, and they're stealing all the cows!" "AGAIN? Well, we'd better get going."

**BGM: Standing Ovation (Ending Theme) **

Joe turned to Alastor. Alastor, you coming?" "Sure. Why not?" "I am coming as well." Rachel said. "Come on, Nick. Let's roll."

Nick shook his head. "Naaah. You got a hero who's just as good standing right in front of you." He said, nodding at Goldie, who blushed. "Ruh…really? You think so?" "I KNOW so. Go on, Radiant Goldie. Knock em' dead. Dazzle them."

Sylvia grinned. "The Twin Jewels together again!" "This is gonna be so awesome!" Joe said. "Guess the party's about to begin all over again, huh Joe?" Nick said.

"Yep!" Joe said. "Hey Sylvia, you don't mind getting married AFTER we save the world, do you?" "No." She said, smiling. "Just promise me you'll remember your vows." "Don't worry, I wrote 'em down inside my hat!" Blue rolled his eyes, and everyone else laughed. Joe and the others looked at each other, grinning, and then they jumped into the air.

"**Viewtiful Seven, ready to rock!"**

Da-da-da! Credits!

**VIEWTIFUL JOE**

The main hero of the Viewitful Joe game series. Brave, bold and pretty dang silly, he's PERFECT hero material. He's not that smart, but he's got a down-to-earth wisdom about him. "Strange but true from the book of Joe…girls can live on only flowers for weeks at a time!" I know, Joe. He's a really nice guy…until someone threatens the ones he loves…or Six Machine. He LOVES riding in Six Machine. He's a big star now, and an inspiration to all aspiring heroes out there!

**SEXY SYLVIA**

The main heroine of the Viewitful Joe game series. She originally had to be rescued, but soon proved that she was MORE than capable of handling dangerous villains on her own. She's clever, witty, and a whole lot smarter than Joe. On the other hand, she's not that good at driving and is not as physically strong as Joe, so the two make a great couple. "Brains and Brawn!" Exactly…though Joe's not THAT dumb. She really, REALLY likes ice cream. She too is an inspiration, only to aspiring heroines!

**CAPTAIN BLUE**

Originally a director of action hero movies, when he became a passing fad he became depressed and unhappy…but then he was sucked into Movieland, becoming Captain Blue, an amazing superhero…and thus his movies became bigger hits all over again!...but soon they started to fade into obscurity, and he began to let doubt into his heart, becoming evil. Joe saved him, and now he's a mentor for Joe…as well as a good father to Sylvia. "But he still needs to lose some pounds!" "I know, I know…" He is pretty chubby, but his renewed devotion to his family is inspiring.

**JET BLACK**

Jet is Joe's father, and Captain Blue's old friend. He and Blue were partners. Blue would direct movies, Jet would show them at his movie theater…but then Jet began to get depressed. He wanted to be a true hero and a good father to Joe, and he didn't know how. Then he found…the BLACK FILM. He became evil, and began showing real junk at his theater, which eventually was driven to near-abandonment. He became the Black Emperor for a while too, but thanks to Joe and Sylvia he's back to normal, and now happily runs his movie theater, visiting Joe and Sylvia occasionally. "And I give them discounts on snacks at the theater!" Jet's also taking karate classes, which gets Joe worried, because he doesn't want his dad throwing out his back.

**STYLISH ALASTOR**

Originally a demon from the Underworld who joined JADOW and GEDOW just to find challenging opponents, he met his match with Joe, and then with Sylvia…and then with Blue…and then with Nick. Man, he's been beaten a LOT! He became a hero for a brief, but happy, period of time when his girlfriend Goldie was kidnapped. Where did he meet her? At a showing of, believe it or not, "Viewtiful Joe"! He acts like he's too cool for others, but he's really nice underneath it all, and he really does love Goldie. He's brave and powerful, and knows how to pull of sweet sword moves. "Don't forget my sense of fashion!" AND he knows how to dress pretty well too!

**MS. BLOODY RACHEL**

Rachel was originally one of Dr. Cranken's creations, like Cameo Leon. She was a cold, heartless machine, but then she got interested in learning what it meant to have "heart"…and Joe and Sylvia taught it to her in a rather…BLUNT fashion. Once they beat her though, she became a good friend. She's smarter, stronger and more versatile than any normal human, although anyone with VFX powers can match her. Her robotic body seems to be more tricked out than one of those cars from "Pimp My Ride"! "Tell me, what is "pimping"?" While Rachel may be smart, she's not street smart. Luckily Joe and the others are teaching her. Oh, and she knows how to make a good cheeseburger.

**RADIANT GOLDIE**

Twin sister of Sylvia and daughter of Captain Blue, Goldie possesses both VFX and Director's powers, making her a tough adversary. However, she's a target of ridicule because of her appearance in the "Viewtiful Joe" video game. Some sophomoric people believed her to be…well…doing some kind of sex act in the opening scene with her sister. It was actually tickling. This got her so mad that she became a super-villain, convincing herself that once she had enough REAL power, she'd be the best hero around. Luckily Nick stopped her, and now she's doing what she loves best…being a hero with her family. "And whacking jerks!" Oh, and whacking jerks. I can dig it.

**BLACK JOKER**

Black Joker is a Bianky soldier, but he's the strongest one around, and the only one who has facial hair to boot. He wields a Rapier sword and is quite a good shot with his gun as well. However, when compared to anyone with VFX powrs, Black Joker is really quite the joke, and besides, he's also a coward who runs away when things start even looking SLIGHTLY bad. He wanted to be an astronaut, not a lackey of JADOW or JAGOW.

**CHARLES THE THIRD**

A bat-faced demonic being who can fly, see in the dark, and suck your blood, bleah! Sorry, just HAD to do it. He also likes carrot juice, and being dramatic. His family was…dysfunctional…to say the least. He grew up in luxury, his mother was filthy stinking rich, but he had no real friends, only dollies and books. As a result of this neglect and because his mother and father died, he became pretty nasty. Charles also has another problem…he's got a nasal affliction that makes him snort a lot to clear his nostrils.

**HULK DAVIDSON**

Hulk insists that he was born to be wild, and he's right! Even as a kid he was causing trouble, and always dreaming of being part of "The Hell's Angels" bike gang that drove through his home town often. He has collections of toy motorcycles and big axes, the latter originally belonging to his grandfather, who apparently was a really wild guy. Hulk would NORMALLY be harmless if left alone, but he's got a terrible temper. And DON'T insult his singing.

**GRAN BRUCE**

Gran Bruce's entire family has been in two things…movies and pearl diving. The shark in Jaws? Modeled after HIS grandpa. He's got brothers and sisters in movies as well, and his father and mother are always diving after pearls…and the divers always wonder why they can't find more! Gran Bruce, however, was perfectly content to play in the tub, dreaming about driving a submarine one day. Guess what…he got his wish! Only Joe kicked his butt. Gran Bruce is amazingly dangerous when angered, and has a bad habit of picking his nose at the wrong time…which is ALWAYS.

**ANOTHER JOE**

Originally Another Joe was just Alastor in a disguise, but Dr. Cranken decided to create another Joe from scratch, and Another Joe version 2.0 was created! (Does not come with pop-up blocker.) He's mean, cruel, annoyingly persistant, and possesses VFX powers. That is, before Nick creamed him and then he got eaten alive. Since then he's been humbled, although he's still got a huge ego and doesn't like humans. He'll only do things unless someone says "please", and HATES the outdoors. However he is VERY good at video games, something that Joe and Nick can respect.

**FIRE LEO**

Fire Leo and his brother also have family in the movies and TV. Specifically, his grandfather was a model for a famous character in "Lion King", and his cousins appear in nature documentaries and other nature movies all the time. He himself used to be normal…okay, fairly normal…until one day a shaman placed a strange spell on him and his brother, making them the elemental cats they are today. They don't mind though, and usually like hanging around and talking like brothers normally do. Fire Leo's hobbies include fire-walking, reading mysteries, and, interestingly enough…dancing!

**KING BLUE**

When Blue's movies started going down in the ratings again, and he allowed doubt into his heart, King Blue began to gain physical form, eventually taking him over completely. He's Blue's evil brought to life basically, and he hasn't got a shred of decency…or of dress style, in some people's…coughcoughAlastorcoughcough…opinion. He's completely gone now though, because not only did Joe and the others beat him, but so did Nick, sending the darkness of Blue's darkness straight to the Underworld, where he's now whining about the temperature and arm-wrestling with Dark Kaiser, no doubt, still trying to prove that he's the strongest around.

(Music ends.)

**BGM: Happier Ending (Ending Theme) **

**BIG JOHN**

Ever heard of Team Rocket? Think of Big John as a…well, dinosaur version of them, only with a military theme. He NEVER EVER quits. He just won't stay down! Besides being amazingly stubborn and resolute in his convictions, he's also bossy, temperamental and VERY sneaky when it comes to military tactics. He also is a lousy cook. HOWEVER, he has a lot of connections, and also knows how to break a lock, steal a car, and how to hot-wire a car, leading many to suspect that he had a life on the streets and joined the GEDOW military simply because he had no real future. Whether or not he plans on returning to his home is another story.

**FLINTY STONE**

Flinty has been mistaken for a Russian occasionally. His accent, however, is really Jewish, so people insist that he's just a narcoleptic Jew. And some say that he's just got a funny "I'm always sleepy" tone and that it's not an accent but a result of not getting much sleep. However the truth is…D! All of the above! He's a Russian Orthodox Jew who doesn't get much sleep. If you interrupt his sleep he'll rip you apart, but other than that he's a fairly decent guy, and really nice. He doesn't talk about his past, so people don't pry. He's also good with animals, go know!

**CAMEO LEON**

Cameo Leon was another creation of Dr. Cranken, who was created to destroy Joe and Sylvia and obtain the Black Film. He failed of course, and then WOULD NOT STOP TALKING for a good full minute at super fast speed until he finally croaked. So the doctor gave him an upgrade, making him a lot more competent and crueler. Luckily Nick managed to convince him that he should use his talents for GOOD, and so Cameo Leon sided with Nick, fighting against the doctor. He died a second time when Goldie used her dark powers for a sneak attack on his soul, but was brought back to life when all of her powers vanished thanks to Nick's efforts. Now he's back…and hopefully to stay.

**THUNDER BOY**

Thunder Boy is, for all intents and purposes, Alastor's even-more-evil double. Fear him. No? Not fearing? That's okay, most people don't, because he's not really that good at fighting OR being stylish in his moves. This gets him REALLY angry, and when he's angry, you no like him. At all. Recently he gained the powers of the Underworld, becoming a super-psychotic and dangerous demon, though Nick still managed to beat him with some much-needed help from Sylvia and the others. He's been humbled as a result, but still harbors a grudge against Alastor. He also knows a lot of shady characters, which comes in handy.

**DR. CRANKEN**

Dr. Cranken has created terrible beast upon terrible beast, hundreds of evil automatons, and god-knows-how-many other nasty things. He actually used to look normal, and fairly decent, but a little experiment that involved squid DNA went wrong, and…well…you know what he looks like NOW! Before he was a doctor of medicinal science, experiment with animal DNA to locate a gene that could help people adapt to diseases that animals spread, from doggy flu to ebola, but then he turned evil because of his changed appearance. He's very involved in his work, and very, very smart. He's also got a huge ego which is almost as big as his head.

**FROST TIGER**

Frost Tiger and his brother have family in movies and TV, from movies to documentaries. When a spell was placed on him and his brother, they became elemental manipulators. Fire Leo thought it was cool as hell and started to abuse his powers, eventually becoming pretty evil. Frost Tiger, however, became contemplative, and decided he needed to learn discipline, following the way of the Samurai. Joe and Sylvia beat him, thus earning his respect. He's not really evil, just misguided. Luckily he and his brother are nice guys now. When he's not practicing his moves, he likes skiing, ice-sculpting and, interestingly enough, singing.

**DARK KAISER**

Just as William Blue has King Blue, so does Jet Black have Dark Kaiser. Dark Kaiser was born when Jet Black found the Black Film and began to neglect both his son AND his best friend. He became obsessed with the Black Film, and Dark Kaiser grew inside him, turning Jet into the Black Emperor and giving Dark Kaiser physical form. Luckily Joe and Sylvia beat Jet and Dark Kaiser and turned Jet back to good. Dark Kaiser was then summoned up by Goldie from the tiny shreds of darkness in Jet left over from before and given physical form, but Nick managed to beat him, banishing him to Hell for good, where he's probably arguing with King Blue over who's stronger.

(Music ends.)

And finally…last but definitely not least…

**BGM: Start Stage Jingle!**

**DYNAMIC NICK!**

A video game fan who went to see the "Viewitful Joe" movie with his family, Nick saw them and his best friend kidnapped. Rushing into the silver screen to save them, he landed in Movieland and was given a v-watch, allowing him to unleash the heroness within, becoming Dynamic Nick! Nick's physical strength, smarts or even sense of humor are not his greatest assets though…his greatest thing is his heart, which is truly a hero's, and now he has saved not only his family and his best friend, but also all of Movieland, becoming a superhero in his own right, and not just a wanna-be fanboy.

Nick sighed happily and watched the clouds pass overhead. He'd finished telling his family all about his adventures, and was now simply taking the time to relax…

His family was currently behind him, all talking about something Nick wasn't paying attention to. He could finally RELAX! After spending god knows how long trying to find his family and Matt, after saving life after life, after fight after fight…he could take it easy.

Then, from above, he heard a voice.

It was loud.

It was commanding.

It did NOT belong to anyone he knew.

And the only thing he could tell was that it was important. The person speaking seemed ageless from what Nick could hear, and it could either be a man or a woman.

"NICK!"

Nick immiedately sat up.

"Yeah? Who's that? Who said that?"

"DO NOT BOTHER LOOKING AROUND. YOU CAN'T SEE ME."

"Are…are you God?"

"I'M RESISTING THE URGE TO SAY "YES, NOW DANCE FOR YOUR GOD". YOU MAY SIMPLY CALL ME…THE VOICE."

"Uh, okay. What do you want, Voicey?"

"…DON'T CALL ME THAT. PLEASE."

"I'll try. What do you wanna say?"

"IT'S TIME TO MAKE A CHOICE, NICK. STAY…OR GO HOME." The Voice said sadly.

"Whuh…what? Go _home_? But…but I just started to RELAX! I wanna go sight-seeing with my family! Hang with Joe! The others…"

"THEY WILL NOT REMEMBER YOU. AND YOUR FAMILY WILL NOT REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED HERE EITHER. YOU WILL BE FORGOTTEN…IF YOU LEAVE."

"Huh?"

"THAT'S THE WAY IT HAS TO WORK. I'M SORRY. BUT THEY WON'T REMEMBER YOU IF YOU GO."

"And if I…if I stay?"

"YOU CANNOT LET YOUR FAMILY STAY. ONLY YOU. SO CHOOSE. STAY AND BE A HERO, OR RETURN HOME AND BE FORGOTTEN."

It was as if someone had just knocked down his house in front of his eyes, as if someone had just taken him aside and had calmly explained that no Little Nicky, there really ISN'T a Santa Claus.

Nick covered his eyes with one hand, his other one clenched in furious sadness.

He had been so happy, helping people, using VFX powers…being with others who respected him, strangers who seemed to really care about him. Hanging with his heroes, he'd felt a sense of happy peace he'd never had before.

And now he had to throw it all away…or leave his family behind?

"That's a…uh…uh…a sucky choooice…" he sobbed.

"I KNOW." The Voice said, saddened in tone. "BUT YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE."

Nick took a deep breath and wiped his eyes.

"I can't even say goodbye?"

"NO…"

Nick sniffled a little, then turned to his family, who looked at him, confused. "Nick, are you crying?" Michael asked.

"Let's go home." Nick said, tears falling down his cheeks, a sad smile on his face. "Movieland doesn't need another hero. They've got seven great ones taking care of it. The best around."

"WISE CHOICE, NICK. WISE CHOICE."

All went white…

And then Nicholas Michael Grey, his best friend, and Nick's family, were all gone from Movieland, their existence erased from Movieland history.

Nick was back, in the movie theater, the movie starting back where it had left off. Joe was being brought into the silver screen by Six Majin, and everyone was perfectly fine. No screaming patrons, no messes, no ripped silver screen. It was as if the kidnapping had never happened.

Nick sighed.

"Well…I guess I'll just enjoy the movie."

He did enjoy it too. It was true to the game, and the directors of the movie did a fantastic job with the movie. People gave it a standing ovation...but nobody clapped more hard than Nick, who was crying inside, still thinking of his lost partners in heroics.

The credits rolled. His family began to walk off. Matt turned around. "Hey Nick, coming?" "In a sec. I just wanna see all of the credits." Matt nodded understandingly and left with Nick's family.

In a few minutes he was alone in the theater. He sighed. The credits ended. The lights came back on in the theater.

Nick tried to stand up…

Bonk.

Nick looked down. "Ow." He said, half in surprise. As he had stood up, something had hit his…

Wait…

He didn't OWN a watch…

He looked down at his right wrist, where sure enough, there was a VERY familiar looking watch, sparkling slightly with a rainbow aura.

His v-watch!

Wait…if he had his v-watch…that meant he still had VFX powers! And if THAT was true…

Then maybe…just maybe…

He would see Joe and the others again…and they'd remember him

The Voice had said they would forget him.

But it didn't say he'd be forgotten forever.

* * *

**EXTRAS!**

* * *

"Hello everyone. Captain Blue here. As you know, Nick went through a LOT of harrowing adventures in Movieland, but…heh-heh…there's a LOT of stuff that DIDN'T make it into the fine piece of work you're reading here! That's right…extras! Deleted scenes, bloopers, and more! Take it away, Joe! I've got business to attend to." 

"Thanks Dad-in-law! Now you're probably wondering what happened to all of us AFTER the big adventure with Nick."

"They certainly are, Joe."

"Thanks Sylvia. Well for starters…"

"Me and Joe are happily married. The wedding was HUGE!"

"Yeah, EVERYBODY came. I'm serious! And nobody got drunk!...except for this one kid, and he only got drunk cuz someone spiked the Hawaiian Punch instead of the fruit punch we had. Poor kid couldn't walk a straight line, funniest thing I ever-"

THWOCK!

"OW!"

"Joe, enough!"

"Sorry. Anyway, me and Sylvia are now officially married, and guess who'll be marrying in a few weeks?"

"Yep! Goldie is one lucky girl!"

"And Alastor's one lucky guy. Your sister's pretty hot, Sylvia!"

"Well she IS my twin."

"But you're still cuter."

"Aw, Joe. You always know what to say!"

"Of course he does, he writes it on his hand!"

"No I don't, Alastor!" (Starts wiping stuff off of his hand. Sylvia whacks him, and the two take off, with Sylvia right behind Joe, whacking him on the head with her purse.)

"OW! Sylvia, that hurts!"

Alastor groans. "Okay, I'LL take over. Anyhoo, Rachel's doing okay as well. She's uh…also found love…"

Camera cuts to Dr. Cranken's lab. It's a candelit dinner. Rachel is at one end.

"You look dashing."

"Really? Cuz I thought Navy Blue didn't work too well with pitch black." D.E.M says, looking slightly nervous.

"Robot love. Go figure. Anyway, Jet's got his theater back, and he's showing Captain Blue's new movies. In fact, Blue's working on a movie right now!"

"It'll be a smash hit! You can write it down!"

"Do the shameless plug somewhere ELSE, old-timer. As for Charles the Third, he's staying with the doc, Cameo Leon and Another Joe, who all are working very hard at Dr. Cranken's lab, trying to turn it into an acceptable medical facility. Charley Boy FINALLY got rid of the nasal problem thanks to Dr. Cranken."

Camera cuts to the lab, where Charles is jumping up and down.

"I'm cured, I'm cured, I'm cured! Hmm…aaaahhhh…my nostrils never felt more clean!"

"Unfortunately, the doctor's face and arm are still not repaired, but he's working on it."

"Okay, take the bandages off Another Joe."

"All right. Oh! Oh boy."

"…what do I look like now?"

"Well…now you look like a crab instead of an octopus or a squid."

"Curse it! Back to the drawing board!"

"Yep, they're all idiots, except for Cameo Leon. He's been working out a deal with the were-beings in the jungle. Now they go collect samples of flora from the jungle for the doc. He thinks he can find a cure in one of the flowers in that jungle. Who knows? The only flowers I like are roses and dandelions, everything else makes me sneeze. And CL's doing nicely too, he writes spy novels in his spare time."

Camera cuts to Cameo Leon, who's writing up a storm.

"Okay…"I lowered myself lower down the shaft, peering into the darkness below, my sweat illuminated like little tiny stars by the few lights the elevator shaft had lined up in the walls…". Man, how do I think UP this stuff?"

"I may not know art, but that novel sounds cool. Hulk Davidson now owns a motorcycle store, and has released a rap song. Surprisingly, it's a hit. I have a feeling though, that he'll become a one-hit-wonder."

Camera cuts to Hulk, who's sitting behind a counter, helping out, of all people, Captain Blue.

"Oh, hey man! What can I do ya for?"

"I need the best motorcycle paint you have. It's for my new movie."

"Sure, sure. Aisle Two. Look at the top."

"Gran Bruce is doing okay as well. He went away to college, and is studying marine biology. We all wish him good luck on his exam next week!"

Camera cuts to Gran Bruce, who's studying at his desk.

"Let's see…okay, I think I've got this figured out. Man, I am SO gonna ace the test!"

"We all wish him well, but we know he's gonna bomb it. He's trying to SPELL Marine Biology at that desk...and he's got "Marine" spelled "Mareene". Moving right along…Fire Leo and Frost Tiger are now running a restaurant. Specifically, a Japanese Restaurant. Frost Tiger is a lean, mean frying machine, and Frost Tiger's an expert and chopping up little pieces of meat and flipping them into your mouth. The restaurant is a big favorite in Movieland Metropolis. It's called "Lion and Tiger Grill." I go there for their fried rice, personally. It's GREAT."

Camera cuts to the restaurant, where both brothers are in aprons, hats, and at grills.

"Man, I'm on FIRE today! Fifteen orders in half an hour, pretty sweet, huh?"

"Only fifteen? I did twenty!"

"Bull-shitake!"

"No lie, twenty orders."

"Then I'm gonna turn up the heat in here!"

"Here's your chance, bro. Party of 8 coming up in…"

"Thunder Boy has given up trying to be better than me and has gone back to Hell. He's now a personal assistant to "Old Scratch" himself with some help from King Blue and Dark Kaiser, and our lawyers inform us that if I talk about what he does, we won't be able to sell the movie at Wal-Mart, so…"

Camera cuts to Thunder Boy, who's grinning at the camera.

"Hey Alastor, guess what? Wanna hear what Hell's bathroom's look like? We've-"

Camera cuts back to Alastor.

"Okay, that's enough, and I've been in one before. The rhymes on the walls would make Rob Zombie and Ozzy Osbourne puke."

Camera cuts to Flinty Stone.

"And good old Flinty is retired, and now sleeps in his cave, only getting up to eat, take care of his mice and occasionally entertain Joe and the others when they stop by for a visit."

Flinty is fast asleep.

"ZZZ…"

"And I'm doing quite well with Goldie, thank you very much. She's a part-time lifeguard now, in case you were wondering. So now you know what we've all been doing. As for Nick, well…I can't tell you about that. Sorry. But it's time for a little surprise…that's right, DELETED SCENES! This is the stuff we didn't show you in the movie! Take a look!"

**DELETED SCENE:**

**The Ruination of Radiance**

Goldie walked down the street, humming to herself. Life was good. Very good.

Yesterday she'd saved five people from a burning building, seven cats from trees, and three people from being smushed by cars.

AND she'd volunteered at the soup kitchen!

What gave her the biggest sense of satisfaction though, wasn't handing out tasty home-made soup to needy people, but the moment when one of the soup kitchen staffers had grabbed her butt.

She had promptly given him the biggest beat down of his life, and had given the needy people of the soup kitchen quite the show. They had carried her off on their shoulders, cheering while the pervert groaned on the floor.

Goldie smiled at the thought and then remembered…she had to call Alastor! She wanted to take him to a movie.

She took out her cell phone from her purse. She brushed her hair back a little and dialed the number. She casually looked at a newspaper vendor…

And saw the title.

"RADIANT GOLDIE: A GAY GIRLFRIEND?"

She dropped the phone and picked up the magazine.

"Hey girl, you gotta…"

She thrust five bucks into the guys hand with a quick "keep the change". He smiled broadly and went back to reading his copy of "Gaming Girls Gone Wild".

Goldie slowly read the article.

Her hands became fists, crumpling the hateful thing up in seconds. She then ripped it apart with a shriek and stormed off, fuming.

Why those immature, jerky…

HOW DARE THEY!

She was a SUPERHERO! And they were…oooooh! This got her so mad…

Goldie didn't know it then…

But this was the beginning…of a long, dark period in her life.

**DELETED SCENE:**

**Joe and Sylvia's Apartment Talk**

"Okay, this was deleted for obvious reasons. The talk led up to, you guessed it, a kiss, which quickly became more. We could NOT show this, because sex scenes are kinda hard to pull off…and the director was begged not to include it by his mother and father, so…it was deleted. Completely. We can't even show it to you here. Wait…you wanna hear SOMETHING? Okay, here."

Joe and Sylvia are in bed, staring at the celing, and you their lower bodies are covered by a blanket.

"Wow."

"Wowee!"

"That was just…WOW."

"I know."

"…hey Sylvia?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Wanna go get some pizza?"

"What time is it?"

"Six forty."

"How about I make some steak and eggs instead?"

"And that's all we can let you see."

**DELETED SCENE**

**The REALLY messy death of Dr. Cranken**

"Yeah, I know you think Nick killed him in a really brutal way, but originally he was gonna have an even MESSIER death. He was SUPPOSED to fall into the machinery that HE had created to destroy Nick. But there might have been pregnant children and young women-I mean young children and pregnant women watching, so we decided Nick should just smash his head."

"They also thought about putting in a "kill line" for my part, but that idea was squashed."

"For both the old way of the doc dying and the settled-on way. In the old way, he would be standing on a rickety bridge, running away from Nick, laughing. He was supposed to say, "I'd best take my leave before this gets messy." Then the bridge snaps, and he falls down. Nick uses his VFX powers to jump away, Dr. Cranken gets turned into messy, gory sushi. In the settled-on version he was gonna say "I have a HORRIBLE headache right before Nick jumped out from behind a doorway and smashed his head, but we got rid of that too. Too corny."

**DELETED SCENE**

**Michael vs. Jaws**

"Now the reason we didn't include in the move how Mike got away from Jaws with Gran Bruce and Dr. Cranken is because it was such a rip-off of the original ending of Jaws we couldn't show it or we'd be sued. What happens is Mike picks up an explosive crate, throws it at Jaws who has it in his mouth, and then grabs a gun from off the boat. BAM. Shark everywhere. It was also a bit too gory to show…AND Gran Bruce would NOT let us show a shark being blown up, especially not one modeled after his family. He just lost it when we…forgive the pun…FLOATED the idea by him. So the scene was cut."

**BLOOPERS!**

**TRANSFORMING  
**

Nick poses. "Time to **ROCK! HENSHIN**!"

He transforms…

But his outfit is PINK.

"What the? Okay, who's the wise guy that fiddled with my outfit?"

Boo-boop!

Nick transforms…

But becomes Kamen Rider.

"Okay, REALLY funny, guys."

Boo-Boop!

Nick transforms…

And falls flat on his face when he jumps into the air.

"OW!" He picks himself up. "Let's...not...use that take."

**The Wedding Ceremony**

"We are here to wed this man and this woman…"

"SNOOOOOORE!"

"Daddyyyy! Wake up!"

Captain Blue has fallen asleep. Joe laughs so hard he falls over, and the minister gives the "Cut" gesture.

**Nick goes into the silver screen.**

Nick rushes towards the movie screen, jumping up…

BAM! He hits the screen and falls down on his back, rubbing his sore nose.

"Owwwwww! **GUYS**! NOT funny!"

**Charles the Third **

"He will Fear me! SNORT."

"Snort…ha-ha-ha!"

"What's so…SNORT…funny?"

"Your pants ripped when you got up from your chair, master!"

"What? Aw, MAN. SNORT. Help! A little help here?"

**Fire Leo**

Fire Leo is dancing ballet in his lair.

"Oh, I could eat you up…better than candy, you're so dandy…"

He twirls.

"Buttercup princess, I…love…yoouuuu!"

He ends with a flourish…and sees Nick's been watching. Nick is laughing his head off.

"HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

"You saw nothing!"

**Nick asking around town**

"Hey, have you seen Sylvia?"

"As coroner, I must aver…"

"Oh, no! You're NOT cracking that joke! CUT! CUT!"

Boo-boop!

"Hey, have you seen Sylvia?"

"Clothing on or off?"

"Uh…ON?"

"No…and dammit, I haven't seen her with them off either!"

"Okay, cut. CUT!"

Boo-boop!

"Please don't shove anything up my ass! I like my ass!"

"I like your ass too!"

Black Joker starts laughing.

"I'm sorry, I just…hwa-ha-haaa! Hoo-hoo! WOOP! Okay, start over!"

**The Ending Scene**

"Turn the other cheek."

"She sure has nice ones!" Jordan said.

BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM! THWACKA-THWACKA-TWHACK! THUDDOW!

"Ouch. Jordan, you okay?"

"I can't feel my arms, my legs, or my bu-uh-uhtttt!" Jordan says, sobbing.

"Goldie, get a grip! And Jordan, say that one more time and you're OUTTA here!"

"Pervert! Say that again and I keep it real with REPLAY!"

"OUCH. That WOULD hurt. You go girl."

"What did you call me?"

"CUT! CUT!"

**VIEWTIFUL WORLD**

Joe stands on a stage. Alastor's next to him. Goldie has a guitar, along with Sylvia, Blue is on the drums, and Jet Black has the bass, while Rachel is doing disc-scratching work.

"Hey everyone! Viewtiful Joe here! Me and the gang have all come together to perform for you our smash hit song, Viewtiful World, as seen in the game! Here we go, guys!" Joe holds up the microphone, and…

_Our masterpiece…complete!_

_Keep the beats, freaks! Must keep on this, scene to scene, yo!_

_For the flow to live the days, ready to face tomorrow!_

_Action! Choose without looking! Gonna amp it up like a ROCK SHOW!_

_A free feeling Attraction!_

_Without checking, combo from high to low!_

_Back to back, a merciless K.O!_

_Viewtiful Joe!_

_Call my name! _

_I'm coming don't worry baby!_

_Win this game! _

_There can be no mistake at all!_

_Say the word! _

_Are you ready? _

_Let's Boogie!_

_And save this love! _

_Hey! Come on!_

_So I wanted to change the world,_

_To keep it on for tomorrow's sake, you need more than words to keep it up!_

_Time goes on and on love! Fighting for my own true self, YEAH! _

_Viewtiful Joe coming up!_

_There's no pain, no gain…_

Alastor steps into view, grinning.

_1, 2… It's best to show your technique by fighting!_

_Like a break dance, a sort of foot work…_

_In the company of rhythm, I'm right on time…_

_Come on, hero…it's show time!_

_Call my name! _

_Original combo, Action!_

_Win this game! _

_Splendidly evade and kick!_

_Say the word! _

_Watch me impress the girls!_

_Save this love! _

_Hey! Come on!_

_So I wanted to change the world,_

_To keep it on for tomorrow's sake, you need more than words to keep it up!_

_Time goes on and on Love! Fighting for my own true self, YEAH! _

_Viewtiful Joe coming up!_

_There's no pain, no gain…_

Kicking guitar piece, and then Joe transforms, grabbing the mike again.

_Call my name! _

_Original combo, Action!_

_Win this game! _

_Splendidly evade and kick!_

_Say the word! _

_Watch me impress the girls!_

_Save this love! _

_Hey! Come on!_

_All night long, I walk alone….I don't know what I to do! _

_But from now on…I'll do it by myself… day by day!_

_Nevertheless love, nothing is gone!_

_Taking a detour, but still going the right way!_

_Call my name! _

_I'm coming don't worry baby!_

_Win this game! _

_There can be no mistake at all!_

_Say the word! _

_Are you ready? _

_Let's Boogie!_

_And save this love! _

_Hey! Come on!_

_So I wanted to change the world,_

_To keep it on for tomorrow's sake, you need more than words to keep it up!_

_Time goes on and on love! Fighting for my own true self, YEAH! _

_Viewtiful Joe coming up!_

_So I wanted to change the world,_

_To keep it on for tomorrow's sake, you need more than words to keep it up!_

_Time goes on and on love! Fighting for my own true self, YEAH! _

_Viewtiful Joe coming up!_

_There's no pain, no gain…_

Joe and Alastor bow. "Thank you…thank you…you're a beautiful bunch of cats, all of you."

Nick steps in front of the camera and gets all up in front, grinning.

"That's a rap!" He says. "Bye!"

**

* * *

****AUTHOR'S NOTES****

* * *

**

It all started back when Viewitful Joe came out for Gamecube.

And I thought...I...WANT...THAT...GAME!

And I got it! And I LOVED it! All the melodrama, the characters, the extras! And I ended up buying the sequal too...and then...I realized...I wanted to be a part of it all, the whole Viewitful Joe universe. How could I do that?

Simple. Write a fanfic! And I did!

It took me a LONG time to write it, and I didn't start publishing it until recently, but finally it's done, in all it's Viewtifulness. It started simply from an idea, what might happen if an ordinary-and-yet-not-ordinary kid ended up in the Viewtiful Joe world and it became something more. It became a piece of work I was PROUD of.

And now I'd like to thank a few people. For starters, my family. They inspire me, in both good ways and bad. Especially my brother. If he hadn't annoyed me so much about how I'd NEVER be like any hero I like, I wouldn't have gotten so pumped about finishing this fanfic. Thanks. Heh.

And I also wanna thank my fans...and you know who you are. _Mahalo_, as they say in Hawaii.

I also wanna say that games inspired me, of course...and I almost forgot to say this, good thing I remembered...

**BIG BOLD LETTERS: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING FROM TEAM VIEWTIFUL OR FROM CAPCOM. NOT JOE, NOT THE V-WATCH, OR ANYONE ELSE. **

There, I said it. Oh, but I DO own Nick and his family, and all of Nick's personas. Ha!

In case anyone was wondering, the titles DO have inside jokes of sorts. "Brand New Hero" is a song by Reel Big Fish, a band I love listening to. It's basically about a hero going away, and how the place he once defends needs a new one. So I felt it fit. And Nick IS a Brand New Hero.

A lot of the titles are either plays on phrases like Creatures of the Fight (Night) or plays on song titles like Another One Bites the Dust, or movie title rip-offs, like In with Flint and Not Another Mad Scientist Movie. That title I'm especially proud of. And some are just given dramatic, Anime-style names, since the Viewiful Joe world is FILLED with melodrama.

And "The Last Show" is another Reel Big Fish title. Guess what it's about.

Finally, my end title is the last title of the last episode of the Viewitful Joe anime series, season two.

"Tomorrow's Hero is You". I thought it fit.

Anyhow, there's someone else I wanna thank. My dog, Coco, who actually belonged to my nonno (Italian for Grandpa.) He started living with us a year after I started really writing the fanfic, and I have fond memories of him from my childhood, visiting my nonno in Boston. Coco's not living here anymore. So Coco, this is for you. I miss you, man. Even your smell.

I've had a great time writing this. And I'm writing another fanfic. You'll all see it when it's time.

So see you later. Keep it Viewitful.

_ngrey651_

**

* * *

****THE END. ****

* * *

**


End file.
